Battle Royale: An Alien Perspective
by The Passionate Admiral
Summary: An American scholar is spending his ninth-grade studying abroad in Japan. The entire school year goes along relatively well for him. However, the day before the class graduates, the American and his 44 classmates wind up in the absolute worst scenario imaginable. When a "new rule" is introduced, the American is certain more than anyone else that he will not survive the ordeal.
1. Student List

Battle Royale: An Alien Perspective

Author: The Passionate Admiral

Rating: M

Disclaimer: I do not own Battle Royale in any of its forms – novel, manga, or movie. I just own this work of fanfiction as well as all the characters in it.

Plot: Blaine Rhodes – a 15-year-old American student – decides to spend one year studying abroad in Japan. This just so happens to be his ninth-grade year. He manages to get along with the majority of his 44 classmates very well. A diplomatic exchange program between America and Japan grants Blaine protection from discrimination while he is Japan. However, the exchange program does **not **protect him – or his class –from the Millennium Educational Reform Act. When his class his chosen, nearly all hope is lost. It is not until the Program's "newest" rule is introduced that Blaine in particular faces a completely hopeless scenario.

Now for the student list:

Boys:

#1 Daisuke Araki

#2 Tatsuo Inoue

#3 Kenzou Iwamoto

#4 Michio Ueno

#5 Toshirou Oosaki

#6 Hitoshi Ohara

#7 Shuuichi Kai

#8 Wataru Koumura

#9 Osamu Sano

#10 Goro Shiroi

#11 Yuuga Suzuki

#12 Jakobe Tanaka

#13 Kazuki Chikuda

#14 Genji Nishihara

#15 Mamoru Niwa

#16 Kazumitsu Hayashi

#17 Fumitaka Hirata

#18 Akiyo Furukawa

#19 Teru Machida

#20 Naozumi Matsuno

#21 Gakuto Yamashita

#22 Tsukasa Yoshizawa

Girls:

#1 Namiko Abe

#2 Kaminari Ishida

#3 Riyeko Imamura

#4 Chiaki Iwasaki

#5 Asayo Endou

#6 Yasuko Oomori

#7 Misaki Ozawa

#8 Akina Kikuchi

#9 Yuriye Sakaguchi

#10 Tamayo Shintani

#11 Chieko Suda

#12 Kiyomi Takayama

#13 Hina Tashima

#14 Shizuye Chida

#15 Maki Nakamura

#16 Rumi Hakugi

#17 Eiko Hirakawa

#18 Kotoyo Fukumoto

#19 Reika Fujihara

#20 Ichiko Murakami

#21 Tomoe Yamakawa

#22 Sayeko Watanabe

American exchange student:

Blaine Rhodes (no class number)


	2. A Friend Amongst Strangers

Blaine Rhodes stood outside of the door to Keio Shonan-Fujisawa Junior High School, located in Fujisawa in the Kanagawa Prefecture in Honshu. He had spent many, many weeks preparing for this moment, and now it was finally going to happen.

A few months earlier, America and Japan decided to open up an exchange program in which both governments would send a number of scholars overseas to study in the other country. This was an effort made in hopes to better relations between the two countries. This sort of exchange had not been attempted since the seventies, due to a racial dispute that had erupted in the Akita Prefecture between two Americans and Japanese high schoolers.

All the same, thousands of teenagers applied for this exchange program, including Blaine. Only a few dozen made it into the program, and Blaine was among the first dozen chosen.

In fact, Blaine was more than just a temporary transfer student. He was also working as a youth ambassador for his government. He was staying at the American Embassy in Fujihara with the official American diplomat in the Kanagawa Prefecture. The diplomat just so happened to be a close friend of his mother.

Blaine had not chosen to study abroad in Japan simply because of how rare such an offer was. He had chosen to study in Japan because he was fascinated by all its breakthroughs in technology. Blaine was well-versed in all fields of study, but his specialties were in electricity and mechanics. He hoped that studying in Japan would better his understanding of these practices and help him become an engineer in the future.

But first thing's first and Blaine had yet to walk up the steps of the Keio Shonan-Fujisawa Junior High School. He knew full well that his studies would not begin until he made it to the homeroom for class 3-A.

Blaine took a deep breath, straightened his back, held his backpack over his shoulder, marched up those stairs with confidence, entered through the front door and made his way down the corridors.

It was early; homeroom had not yet begun, and most students were still in the hallways, socializing with friends or looking over their schedules.

Blaine noticed he was attracting a lot of stares from many of the student body. Truthfully, he could not blame them. After all, he knew that most of them had never seen an American before. Most of them probably did not even know that there would be an American studying at their school this year.

Blaine was expecting this sort of unwanted attention. However, he maintained his stance and walked solemnly on. He did not look anyone directly in the eye, but he did not look sharply away either. Doing either would suggest that he was timid or uncomfortable in his present situation. He did not want to give off the wrong first impression to his new schoolmates.

On that note, he was hopeful that the other students in class 3-A would tolerate his presence. In the months before Blaine came to Fujisawa, he took the time to read up on Japanese history. Most of it was about Japan's numerous victories against foreign enemies, as well as the endurance of its empire. However, ever since 1947, the country had never been the same. This was two years after World War II had ended, and according to the history books, Japan had never fully recovered from the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Thus, two years after the war ended, something called the "Millennium Educational Reform Act" or the "BR Act" had been passed. Blaine had looked up this law everywhere, determined to learn about it, but any knowledge of it was restricted from the public by the Japanese government. So Blaine quickly let the issue go.

In addition to this, America and Japan had not been on good terms with each other since World War II, also because of what happened at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As a result, Japan had always referred to America as its "sworn enemies," even though neither of them had been physically involved in a conflict with each other ever since the 1940s.

There had been a few collaborative efforts to bring about peace between the two nations. For example, a few years earlier, there was a situation in Afghanistan that drew the attention of all the Great Powers. Many countries sent troops to Afghanistan to resolve the crisis. America had sent a few hundred marines whereas Japan had sent along a legion of its finest soldiers.

At one point, both the American and Japanese governments had directed their attention to an oil refinery in the heart of Afghanistan. Word had gotten out that a group of political insurgents were planning to bomb the refinery. This news had been picked up by intelligence officers of both countries, and the marines and the soldiers were given the same orders: neutralize the threat and secure the refinery.

Reluctantly, the Americans and the Japanese formed a temporary alliance and went in with all the force they could muster.

Blaine's father, Lieutenant Terrence Rhodes, was a marine at the time; his platoon was the first group sent in. They approached from one side while the Japanese approached from the other side. Unfortunately for them, the radicals who planned the bomb threat were waiting for them. A deadly gunfight ensued in which more than half of Lieutenant Rhodes' squadron was wiped out. Most of the rest were captured by the insurgents.

Fortunately, Lieutenant Rhodes and his remaining units were able to rescue their men. However, the Lieutenant quickly learned that the Japanese squadron had also been apprehended by the insurgents. Lieutenant Rhodes ordered his men to go on without him to shut down the bomb while he went to deal with the remaining insurgents.

Almost single-handedly, Lieutenant Rhodes killed the remaining insurgents and saved over three dozen Japanese soldiers from certain death.

Each one of these Japanese soldiers expressed their gratitude towards Lieutenant Rhodes. One of the officers even managed to say in broken English "Someday… somehow… I repay you."

Rhodes' men were able to dismantle the bombs before they went off. They remained at the refinery until reinforcements arrived.

When Rhodes got back to America, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his act of heroism. The Japanese government also sent Rhodes a message, personally thanking him for what he did.

Blaine was proud of his father. What he had done was a small act, but it was a sign that there was still hope for a peaceful future between the Japanese and the Americans.

Of course, Blaine kept reminding himself "That was then; this is now." Whether it was a favor, a selfless act, or a grand show of compassion, no single deed would be enough to reshape an international social conflict that had endured for decades between two of the world's strongest countries.

All the same, Blaine never gave up hope. He was optimistic, intelligent, prudent, and sympathetic. He could go far with those attributes. But only if he used them in the right fashion. Showing an excess of any of those traits might lead people to believe he was dangerous, whereas showing a scarcity of them could lead people to think he was either berserk or cold-blooded.

He decided to just "go with the flow," so to speak. After making a first impression on his classmates, he would decide where to go from there.

And who knew? Maybe in a few months, his presence there would be regarded as "totally normal."

…

Blaine finally came to the door labeled "Class 3-A." He took a peak through the looking glass and saw that the rest of the class was already assembled. Like the students outside, some of them were socializing with friends while others were looking over their schedules. Some had even begun studying the course material.

The teacher – a lovely young woman in a black dress with a white coat – was sitting at her own desk, between the chalkboard and the students.

Blaine slowly brought his right hand up to the door and knocked five times.

The teacher looked up from her work, pushed out her chair, stood up gracefully, and walked to the door. Then she opened up a few inches, just enough to see who was outside.

When she saw Blaine, her facial expression did not change in the slightest. She just glanced back at him as he stood there. There was a bit of an awkward silence between the two, as Blaine was not entirely certain how to address the teacher.

Then he remembered – in Japan, people bowed in order to say "Hello." He took two steps back, put his arms to his sides, and arched his head and torso forward slightly. He kept his body at that angle for a moment; then he came back up.

The teacher remained still for about fifteen seconds. Then she merely smiled at Blaine and bowed in return.

Blaine smiled back and spoke in Japanese "May I come in?"

The teacher held up her hand for a moment, as if to say "Just a moment." Then she turned to her students and announced "Class, may I please have your attention?"

All forty-four classmates quieted down and faced the front of the room. Once there was peace, the teacher turned back to Blaine and gestured for him to come inside.

Blaine took another deep breath and stepped through the archway. Just like before, he got a great many mixed reactions from the people in the room. Some seemed surprised to see him there, others curious, others perplexed. But no one uttered a word.

The teacher motioned for Blaine to stand in front of her desk. This he did obediently, and then the teacher spoke to the class once more: "As some of you may already know, Keio Shonan-Fujisawa Junior High School is one of the hundred schools that were chosen to let an American exchange student sponsor it this year. Our class – Class 3-A – will be taking in this young scholar…"

She paused to look at Blaine, as if waiting for something. He quickly realized what she wanted, smirked and stated "Rhodes, ma'am. Blaine Thaddeus Rhodes."

"Of course," said the teacher, "Rhodes Blaine-kun."

Blaine suppressed the desire to scoff. He merely told the teacher "The 'kun' is unnecessary, ma'am. I don't need any titles while I'm here."

"Everyone uses titles in this country, young sir," she told him, "Are you certain you would want to distinguish yourself in that manner?"

Blaine realized that she did have a point. If he was going to grow accustomed to life in Japan, it would be ideal for him to begin by taking on some of their everyday practices. He merely shrugged and replied "I suppose you are right, ma'am. If I'm to adapt to this country's lifestyle, I may as well begin by letting people address me in the same fashion as everyone else."

"Smart thinking," remarked a boy at the front. Everyone looked around the room towards this boy. He was tall, muscular, but held a very intelligent expression.

"Have you something to say, Nishihara?" the teacher asked him.

"No, ma'am, I was merely passing along a comment," answered the student, Genji Nishihara (Boy #14).

"Very well," said the teacher, "Next time, please wait until someone asks for your opinion."

"I shall," stated Genji.

Blaine looked back to the teacher and saw that she was holding her hand out to him. He cautiously accepted it and shook hands with her.

"I am Kawano Nami-sensei," she introduced herself; "I hope you enjoy your stay here, Blaine-kun."

"I'm certain I will," remarked Blaine, "After all, I'm not only here to learn in terms of academics; I'm also here to learn in terms of cultural norms. Where would you like me to sit?"

There were forty-five desks in the room; they were set out in five columns of nine. Ms. Kawano pointed out the first desk in the middle column. It was the only one that was unoccupied. Blaine asked Ms. Kawano "Do I have your permission to take my place in your class?"

Ms. Kawano smirked and told him "Of course you do. You do not need to ask permission for that sort of thing."

"If you say so, ma'am," commented Blaine as he moved to the empty desk and sat down there. He got unpacked and organized his books according to his schedule.

As it turned out, he was sitting just to the right of Genji Nishihara, the boy that had spoken out. Genji gave him a welcoming nod of the head in acknowledgement.

The other students quickly went back to doing what they were doing before Blaine came in.

Before long, homeroom began. Morning announcements were the first order of the day. A number of extracurricular activities were listed off. Obviously the school anticipated that a good percentage of the student body would be eager to get involved in the various sports or clubs it had to offer.

Blaine considered getting involved in a club or two while he was in Japan. Not only would it be a potential way for him to get acquainted with his schoolmates, but it might also prove to be quite fun!

…

After homeroom, the class began studying calculus. Blaine always had fine aptitude in mathematics, but he knew that the average Asian knew a great deal more about math than the average American. So he would have a little catching up to do at first.

Morning classes went off without a hitch. There was chemistry, literature, and government. The first two classes were rather enjoyable, but Blaine was not surprised to find that government was basically just a propaganda course glorifying the government and its practices. He was expecting something like this. While he did not believe a single word of it, he still took good notes about it.

At lunchtime, Blaine got in line with everyone else. Once more, he drew a lot of stares from the student body. But just as before, he ignored them.

When he took his tray, the cook gave him an odd look. Blaine gazed down at the contents of the tray: there was fish, assorted vegetables, rice, and a bowl of soup. He looked up at the chef and gave him an approving nod.

The chef smirked evilly and spoke in broken English "What? You hope for peanut butter or something?"

Blaine scoffed, took his tray, and replied in flawless Japanese "No need to condescend me, sir. I've sampled Japanese cuisine before. I'm pretty sure I can stomach your food, too."

The chef looked surprised, but just made a shooing gesture and said in Japanese "Move along, then. You're holding up the line."

"Yes, sir," stated Blaine as he picked up his tray and stepped out of line.

He moved towards the center of the room and looked around for an empty table. A lot of the students were still glancing his way, and most of them held rather unwelcoming countenances. Blaine sighed and quickly decided that he would just eat outside.

He walked over to the exit and slowly opened the door. But just before he stepped through, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around and saw that the hand belonged to the same boy that had interrupted class before homeroom, Genji Nishihara.

"Hello," Blaine spoke, "May I help you?"

Genji smirked and replied "No, but I believe **I** can help **you**. Come sit with me and my friends."

Blaine was stunned at first, but decided to accept the invite. He closed the door and walked with Genji over to a table near the center of the room. There were five other students already sitting there; three girls and two boys. All of them were from Blaine's homeroom.

Genji sat down between one of the boys and one of the girls. Blaine just sat down on the opposite side of the table at the end.

"I do not believe we have been properly introduced to each other," Genji told Blaine, holding out his hand, "I am Genji Nishihara, Class President of Class 3-A."

"Rhodes," Blaine responded as he shook Genji's hand, "Blaine Rhodes."

"We know," said the girl sitting next to Genji. She was Chieko Suda (Girl #11), the Class Vice-President. She introduced herself to Blaine rather cordially.

The other two boys were Goro Shiroi (Boy #10) and Tatsuo Inoue (Boy #2).

"I never thought I'd actually meet an American," Tatsuo told Blaine, "I want to know all about it. Is it really as big as we've heard? Is it actually a democracy? You elect your leaders, right? How do you determine which state you belong to? Is it similar to our own prefectures? How do-?"

"Okay, okay, enough!" interrupted one of the girls, Asayo Endou (Girl #5), as she patted Tatsuo on the back. She looked over at Blaine and told him "You'll have to forgive Tatsuo. He's obsessed with Western culture."

"I can see that," remarked Blaine drily.

"I must say; you speak Japanese rather well," noted Goro, "Almost as if you've always spoken it."

"Good, that was my hope; I had almost a year to learn it, after all," Blaine pointed out, "You see, in America, our school year begins in September and ends in May of the following year. Whereas here, it runs from April to December. Basically, while you guys were just beginning your second year of junior high school, I was finishing up my eighth-grade year and graduating from middle school. So I had about ten months to learn all about Japanese culture, including its native tongue."

"Can you read and write in Japanese as well?" queried Chieko.

"Of course," Blaine replied, "Wouldn't get very far along without being able to read and write in Japanese. I must say, your language is a fascinating one. Seeing as it's based on mnemonics, whereas the English language is based on spelling and grammar."

At that moment, the third girl, Kiyomi Takayama (Girl #12) whispered something into Asayo's ear. In response, Asayo giggled under her breath. Then she said "Maybe you should tell him that."

Blaine overheard this and asked Asayo "Tell me what?"

"Kiyomi thinks you could write a sermon," Asayo responded, "Maybe she's right."

Kiyomi covered her mouth and said "Asayo! Don't tell him **that**!"

"Why, because you wanted to tell him?" Asayo said humorously.

Blaine chuckled and said "I apologize; sometimes I have a tendency to drone on, even when I'm asked a relatively simple question. But I actually did score top marks in my speech class last year."

"Really?" said Kiyomi, "Then maybe you could help out Genji and Chieko. As Class President and Vice-President, they'll need to write good speeches for our graduation ceremony."

"That's nine months away, Kiyomi!" Chieko pointed out, "Why would we bother with that right **now**?"

"She may have a point, Chieko," Genji told his partner, "After all, having a foreign opinion might amount to something in the end."

Blaine shrugged and said "I'd be happy to help in any way I can."

The rest of the lunch break was mostly held in silence between the group as they ate their lunch. Five minutes before break ended, Blaine took a pen and a notebook out of his backpack. He turned to page one and began writing down in English.

"What are you writing?" asked Chieko.

"While I'm living in Japan, I plan to catalogue my experiences," Blaine explained as he continued writing, "You see, I'm not just here to study. I'm also here to observe the everyday life. So every day, I write down anything of interest in English. Then I copy it again in Japanese."

"Why copy it in Japanese?" asked Goro.

"Because before I leave the country in December, I have to let the Japanese foreign affairs office examine my log," Blaine elucidated, "It's all just standard procedure. They need to make sure I'm not trying to smuggle any… 'information' out of the country."

Tatsuo scoffed and said "That's our government for you! They're so paranoid about a foreign incursion that even exchange students are subjected to meticulous search and seizure!"

"That's an astute way of putting it," said Blaine, "But I can't really complain. After all, I have to respect all the laws and directives of everyone else while I'm here."

"That's commendable of you, Blaine," said Genji, "But don't let your everyday actions be restrained by the government! Everyone 'breaks the rules' once in a while."

Blaine shrugged nonchalantly and stated "If you say so. I'll just do what I'm here to do and hope that everyone will be happy with that."

"It's not that easy," Kiyomi cautioned him, "Some of the students here are very xenophobic. Associate yourself with the wrong crowd, and you could get hurt. Or worse…"

"I appreciate the warning, Kiyomi," remarked Blaine, "But you'll find I have good judgment of character. I know how to tell the good from the bad."

"Let's hope so," Genji slyly stated, "We'd hate for our 'special guest' to disappear on us."

Just then, the bell rang, indicating that lunch break was over and that afternoon classes had begun. Everyone gathered up their bags, threw away their trash, put away their trays, and went out the doors.

The rest of the day went off fairly well. Most of the afternoon was composed of economics, history, and engineering. After this, every class returned to homeroom for a half-hour of study hall.

After the end of school announcements, everyone packed up and left the room. Some went to sign up for extracurricular activities, some went to meet up with their friends, and some just decided to go home. This is what Blaine did. After organizing his locker, he packed up his backpack and headed towards the front exit.

When he was about ten feet away from the door, he heard someone call out behind him "Rhodes! Wait up!"

He turned around and say Kiyomi moving towards him through the crowd. He gave her a friendly smile and said as she approached him "Hello, Kiyomi. How are you doing?"

"I'm doing very well," she answered, "I was just about to meet up with Asayo. We're trying out for cheerleading practice."

"I see," commented Blaine, "I didn't know rugby teams had cheerleaders."

"They do in this country!" said Kiyomi, "However, it doesn't begin for about twenty minutes. So I have some spare time on my hands."

"Good for you," Blaine told her. He turned back to the door and said over his shoulder "I have to get back home."

Kiyomi walked with Blaine out the door and continued walking with him down the steps. As they walked, she asked him "Where are you staying while in Fujisawa?"

"The American embassy," Blaine replied, "That was arranged by my government months ago. I'll be staying there with the prefecture's official American ambassador."

"Where is the embassy?" Kiyomi inquired.

"Downtown," said Blaine, "Just about five miles from here."

"That's not too far from my house," Kiyomi remarked, "Maybe we could meet up sometime after school… or something."

There was a moment of silence. Blaine just looked at Kiyomi as if she was implying a little more than "something." Then he told her "I suppose we could work something out. But the embassy is kept under constant guard. So you'd have to set up an appointment to meet up with me."

"You could just come over to my place," Kiyomi suggested out of nowhere. She quickly put her hand over her mouth. Blaine snickered when he saw the expression across her face. She withdrew her hand and said "Did I say that out loud? I'm sorry if I sounded like-"

"It's alright, Kiyomi," Blaine assured her, "I'm just concerned about one thing. Are you certain your parents would be alright with the concept of you associating yourself with an American?"

"Interesting choice of words," Kiyomi remarked, "But I don't think they would mind that much. Do you have a cell phone?"

"Of course," said Blaine, pulling a Verizon Samsung out of his pocket and showing it to Kiyomi, "My parents got it for me shortly before I came here. They wanted me to have it on hand at all times."

"That's considerate of them," stated Kiyomi. She took a folded piece of paper out of her pocket and handed it to Blaine, "That's my cell phone number. You can call me whenever you want to arrange a meeting."

Blaine slowly took it and looked down at the paper. Then he looked at Kiyomi and asked her jokingly "You just happen to have a piece of paper with your phone number on it at all times?"

Kiyomi nervously looked away and said "No. I… I wrote that down just before study hall ended. I wanted to give it to you."

"Why?" Blaine asked curiously.

"Well, because…" Kiyomi paused for a moment; then she told him "Because everybody needs someone to talk to. I figured you must be lonely since you just arrived in Japan. I just wanted you to know that you could turn to me in case you are."

There was utter silence between the two of them as Blaine looked back and forth from the slip of paper to Kiyomi.

A few moments later, they heard a car honking and voice calling out "Blaine, over here!"

Blaine and Kiyomi turned in the direction of the noise and saw an American marine in uniform standing outside of a normal-looking Buick.

"Who's that?" asked Kiyomi.

"Lieutenant Colonel Marco Calderon," Blaine replied, "He's the chief of security at the American embassy and a close friend of my father. Because I'm not old enough to drive yet, he's also working as my escort. He's here to pick me up."

"Oh, alright then," said Kiyomi. She looked at her watch and announced "I'd better get to the gym. Cheerleading auditions are on in ten minutes."

She turned to walk back up the stairs. When she was halfway up, Blaine said "Kiyomi, wait!"

She looked back over at him and asked "Yes?"

"How long are the auditions?" Blaine inquired.

She shrugged and said "Depends on the turnout. I'd say an hour at most."

Blaine stood rubbing his chin for a few seconds. Then he told Kiyomi "Wait right there."

He made his way over to the Buick. The officer grinned and asked "How was the first day, Blaine?"

"It was great, Marco," answered the young American scholar, "Say, Marco, you've been posted here in Fujisawa for how long? Three years?"

"Three years, four months, nineteen days," replied Calderon, "Why do you ask?"

"You know this town much more than I do," Blaine pointed out. He then asked "What's there to do in downtown Fujisawa? What would be the most ideal place for one to get an after-school snack or to socialize with acquaintances?"

Marco stood thinking for a minute before answering "Well, there is this one snack bar about two miles away from here. Sometimes I go there when I'm off duty. The food tastes surprisingly like home and the beverages are authentic. There's also this one waitress that keeps flirting with me, even though I'm more than five years her senior."

"Would that be an ideal place for junior high students to hang out?" asked Blaine.

"Absolutely," answered Marco, "I've seen many students spend their after-school hours there."

"Great," Blaine commented. He was still holding his cell phone in his hand. He opened up his GPS and asked "Can I have its address?"

"Certainly," Marco told him. After he gave Blaine the snack bar's address, Blaine put away his phone and told Marco "You're off-duty until 1800 hours, correct?"

Marco nodded his head. Blaine suggested "Why don't you go to the snack bar for about an hour or so? I'll meet you there in about an hour and a-half."

"Are you sure you'd mind walking two miles on your own?" Marco asked him in concern.

Blaine just smirked, turned around, and stated "I never said I'd be alone."

He walked back over to Kiyomi and asked her "Is anyone picking you up after the auditions?"

"Normally Asayo's mother picks me and her up," said Kiyomi, "But I can tell her I have… other plans to get home."

"In that case, would you mind if I… observe the auditions?" said Blaine.

"You sure you'd want to come?" asked Kiyomi, "It's actually somewhat boring."

"That's alright with me," Blaine told her, "I won't get in the way. You won't even notice I'm there. Afterwards, we can walk to this snack bar and hang out there. Lieutenant Colonel Calderon can drive you home."

She smiled at him and stated "Alright. I'll meet you in the gym."

She turned around and walked back up the stairs to the front entrance. Blaine went back over to Marco and told him "I'll meet up with you in an hour and a-half."

Marco just smirked and got back into the driver's seat of the Buick. Before driving off, he rolled down his window and told Blaine cockily "Just remember to take it slow."

Before Blaine could respond, Marco just rolled up his window and drove off.

…

Kiyomi was right, as Blaine noticed. The cheerleading auditions were boring. Blaine just sat in the bleachers watching as several of the junior and senior high school girls practiced their cheers. Blaine was not the only boy there; several other boys were sitting around the bleachers. Some of them were waiting on their girlfriends, while others were just there to "get off." Fortunately, there were not many of the latter. A notable example of the later was Akiyo Furukawa (Boy #18). He was always trying to catch the sight of the girls' panties whenever one of them did a high-kick.

After an hour, the auditions were over. Blaine waited until Kiyomi was all packed up and then he met up with her. She was talking with Asayo at the time. When Asayo noticed Blaine approaching, she slyly remarked "Looks like your 'date' is here. Better not keep him waiting, in case he's really 'eager' to get 'better-acquainted.'"

Kiyomi blushed and replied with "Oh, stop! You're so bad!"

Asayo snickered and bounded away, saying "See you around! Try not to have too much 'fun' without me!"

Kiyomi turned to Blaine and saw the amused look on his face. Kiyomi just shook her head and told him "You'll have to forgive Asayo. She has a very practical sense of humor."

"So I noticed," Blaine drily commented as he approached her, "We better get going. Wouldn't want to keep Marco waiting."

She nodded and followed him.

…

The two of them made their way down the blocks as Blaine used his phone's GPS to navigate his way to the snack bar.

On the way, Kiyomi asked Blaine "Why do you call him by his first name?"

"Who?" Blaine inquired.

"Lieutenant Colonel Calderon," she specified, "Here in Japan, we always refer to military officials by their titles and their surnames."

"Understandable," he stated, "Well, you see, like I told you earlier, Marco is a close friend of my father. Any friend of the family is a friend of mine. Plus, I know him personally. Because I consider him a close friend, I don't see any need for titles."

"So you do not use titles for personal friends?" Kiyomi reasoned.

"Unless the person is many years my senior, no," Blaine enlightened her, "I just do away with titles altogether in that regard."

"Then do you consider me a close friend?" Kiyomi asked, "You've never once called me Kiyomi-san."

Blaine quickly realized she was correct. Her conclusion might have been a little hastily-reached, but she did have a point. He told her "Well, umm… I didn't think about that… would you prefer it if I called you 'Kiyomi-san?'"

She thought about this, and then told him "No, I'm comfortable with just 'Kiyomi.' I understand that the usage of Japanese titles will probably take a little getting used to."

Blaine shrugged and said "I guess so." Then he looked at his phone. It said "You have arrived." Blaine looked up and saw the sign for a snack bar. He smirked and said "Here we are!"

…

Blaine and Kiyomi spent about a half-hour in the snack bar with Lieutenant Colonel Calderon. Blaine mostly discussed his plans for what he'd be doing while in Japan, and Kiyomi offered up numerous suggestions for how to accomplish all his objectives. She had lived in the Kanagawa Prefecture all her life, so she knew the place even better than Marco did.

Once the half-hour was up, Marco drove Kiyomi home. When they arrived at her house, she stepped out of the Buick, taking her backpack with her. But she did not close the door just yet. She gestured for Blaine to step out of the car. This he did, albeit somewat hesitantly.

Once he was standing outside the car, Kiyomi stated "I assume you know how to say 'good-bye' in Japanese."

"I know both the physical way and the verbal way," Blaine told her. He bowed to her and in Japanese remarked "Good-bye."

She smiled and told him "I prefer to say good-bye the Spanish way."

"The Spanish way?" Blaine asked in confusion.

Blaine was almost a foot taller than Kiyomi. She stepped in front of him, raised her hands up to his shoulders, and made him bend his upper body forward until his head was level with hers. Then she lightly kissed him on either cheek, catching him completely off guard.

Continuing to smile, she said "I'll see you tomorrow." Then she ran to the front door of her house, took a key out of her pocket, and used it to open the door.

Blaine was still standing in the exact same spot by the time Kiyomi was inside. Marco had witnessed the whole bit. He scoffed and remarked "Now you know."

"Know what?" Blaine asked as he got into the front passenger seat next to Calderon.

"Japanese women can be very unpredictable," Marco clarified, "That girl seems like a nice one. I think you would both benefit from each other's company. But don't do anything too impulsive, otherwise things might spiral out of control."

"I'll keep that in mind," said Blaine. Marco put the car back into driving gear and drove to the American embassy.

Blaine was looking forward to getting back to the embassy. As soon as he was there, he was going to document everything that had happened after school in his journal.

This morning, he had been very tentative about living in Japan for nine months. He had no way of predicting how the locals would react to his presence.

Just by the first day alone, he was convinced that he would enjoy these nine months in Japan. In fact, he almost felt a little depressed that it would only be **nine **months. Around New Year's, his time in Japan would be over.

He touched his cheeks on the spots where Kiyomi had kissed him. That good-bye had been sweet, gracious, and even a little heartwarming.

Blaine predicted that there would probably be a more tearful and bitter good-bye between him and his class when the time came for him to return to America.

Blaine was in fact correct. Come December, he would have to say good-bye to his classmates. But not in the way he anticipated. No, he would be saying good-bye to them in a very different manner…

**Note: What do you think so far? I'd appreciate any constructive criticism you may have. And in case you're wondering, the Program will not officially begin in the next chapter, but the chapter after next. However, the next chapter will end with the class being "selected" for the Program.**


	3. Growing Accustomed

**Note: Just in case you're wondering, all the dialogue between characters in this fanfic is actually being spoken in Japanese, even though it's written in English. The only circumstances under which any of the characters are speaking in English are when it is actually specified that they are, or when Americans are speaking to each other (such as when Blaine was talking with Lieutenant Colonel Calderon in the previous chapter). Just wanted to let you know this.**

Sure enough, the school year progressed well for Blaine Rhodes. It was a little slow and difficult starting off, but he quickly learned how to integrate himself into the Japanese academic and social system.

He grew fond of the school uniforms. They were the colors of red and blue. He and the other boys wore formal white shirts, jackets, and long pants while the girls wore sailor suits.

He did spend a lot of his time with five of the six students he had had lunch with on the first day. Those people were the Class President Genji Nishihara (Boy #14), the Class Vice-President Chieko Suda (Girl #11), Tatsuo Inoue (Boy #2), Asayo Endou (Girl #5), and Kiyomi Takayama (Girl #12).

The only one he did not spend a lot of time with was Goro Shiroi (Boy #10). Goro was always trying to get involved in different types of activities. He did speak with Blaine during lunch and engineering class, but other than that, they did not converse very often.

On the third day of school, Blaine arrived a little early and Genji and Chieko gave him a proper tour of their school. Blaine was the only person in Class 3-A who was not familiar with the school's layout, as he had not attended Keio Shonan-Fujisawa Junior High School for seventh and eighth grade. All forty-four of his classmates, on the other hand, had.

Genji and Chieko were very descriptive in their tour. They told him everything about the school, including famous people who had attended it and historical moments it had been involved in. While the school was relatively young, it still held a lot of history.

Genji and Chieko frequently spent time with Blaine during lunch, but as the class representatives, they often had work to do in the Student Council. So outside of class, their time with him was limited.

The two people who spent the most time with Blaine were Tatsuo and Kiyomi.

Tatsuo had frequently been ridiculed by his classmates for his fascination with western culture. When Blaine arrived in Fujisawa, Tatsuo finally had someone he could relate to. Thus, he and Blaine quickly became good friends. In fact, some would say they were the best of friends.

Many pleasant hours were spent between the two as they discussed American history. Tatsuo invited Blaine over to his house many times where they could talk all they wanted without fear of the government listening. Tatsuo once showed Blaine his collection of American movies which he had acquired from the black market. It was quite diverse. They ranged from Francis Ford Coppola's _The Godfather _to Barry Levinson's _Rain Man _to Steven Spielberg's _Saving Private Ryan _to Martin Scorsese's _Goodfellas_ to Fred Zinnemann's _High Noon _to Frank Darabont's _The Shawshank Redemption_. Blaine had to admire Tatsuo's taste in films. But he was surprised to discover that Tatsuo had not even seen these movies yet.

His reasoning was simple: Japanese dubs of English films were just as bad as English dubs of Japanese films. He did not want to get dubbed versions; he got the original English language versions. However, the DVDs did not come with Japanese subtitles. There was a piece of equipment he could buy that would allow him to put Japanese subtitles onto English-speaking films, but that equipment cost him a lot of money. So he planned to wait until he either had enough money saved up to buy the equipment, or just go ahead and learn English.

Fortunately, Blaine had seen most of the movies in Tatsuo's collection. He had the perfect solution to the problem: the two of them could watch the movies together, and whenever the actors said anything, Blaine could translate it into Japanese and announce it to Tatsuo.

They put this theory to the test with _The Godfather_. It actually turned out to be a very effective strategy. Tatsuo especially liked the famous "Leave the gun, take the cannoli" part.

Blaine and Tatsuo decided to make watching an American movie a weekly event. Every Saturday, they would meet at Tatsuo's house to watch one. Blaine was more than willing to be the movie's interpreter for Tatsuo. Tatsuo's parents and siblings grew fond of Blaine; they always made him feel welcome whenever he was over.

While Blaine considered Tatsuo to be his best male friend, he got along famously with several of the other male students in his class.

Physical education took place every other day. During this class, Blaine was paired up with the perceptive Kenzou Iwamoto (Boy #3). The two of them proved to function well as gym partners. Whether they were weight-lifting, running, playing team sports, or wrestling, Kenzou gave Blaine the guidance he needed to keep up with the masses. After a couple weeks, Blaine felt that he was ready to face off any physical problem that came his way.

The jovial Michio Ueno (Boy #4) showed Blaine many ways to spend his time outside of class. Michio was one of those people who always liked to "live life to the fullest." He was always laughing, always joking, and always cheering his friends up when they were depressed. Everyone enjoyed having Michio around, especially Blaine.

Some of the other boys whose company Blaine enjoyed were the magnanimous Hitoshi Ohara (Boy #6), the supportive Daisuke Araki (Boy #1), and the kindhearted Naozumi Matsuno (Boy #20). Hitoshi was a pacifist who denounced violence in any form. He was glad Blaine was in their class because he had long hoped that the tension between America and Japan would cease to exist as soon as possible. Blaine's presence there gave him hope.

Daisuke and Naozumi were best friends, even though their personalities were different in several ways. Daisuke was assertive and candid whereas Naozumi was diffident and reserved. They had been best friends ever since they could walk. Both of them got along with Blaine very well.

Blaine also spent a great deal of his time with Kiyomi and Asayo. However, sometimes Asayo felt like a third wheel, as Blaine and Kiyomi were often focused on each other. So sometimes, she just hanged out with her friends on the cheerleading squad whenever Blaine and Kiyomi were deep in conversation.

She would always say things like "Guess I better leave you two alone" or "Three's going to be a crowd" or "Maybe you two should get a room."

Blaine and Kiyomi were amused yet stunned at the same time whenever she said anything suggestive like that. They insisted that there was nothing personal between them. In response, Asayo would only casually say "Right, sure."

While Blaine and Kiyomi were irritated by Asayo's "accusations," they did admit that they were starting to feel like more than friends.

At first, Blaine felt that these feelings were a little unprofessional of him. After all, he was in Japan to study, not to fall in love. He needed something to keep his mind focused. So he decided to join a club or take part in an extracurricular activity.

When word got around that Blaine Rhodes was looking to involve himself in the school's programs, the open-minded Ichiko Murakami (Girl #20) suggested that he could take part in a charity group that she and her affluent friend Eiko Hirakawa (Girl #17) had established one year earlier. Blaine agreed and applied for that club. The club gave support to non-profit organizations across the country and did volunteer work for those in need.

While it did fulfill Blaine's desire to do something productive, the charity group was not particularly time-consuming. Its members only met once a week, after school on Friday.

So Blaine continued seraching for another activity or club to join.

The agile Wataru Koumura (Boy #8) suggested that Blaine try out for the rugby team. Wataru mentioned that he had seen Blaine in physical education, and that he easily had the strength, determination, and flexibility of an ideal rugby player. While Blaine was grateful for the offer, he had never been one for competitive sports, so he turned down the invitation.

When Blaine mentioned that he always came out on top in riflery and archery whenever he went to summer camp, Shuuichi Kai (Boy #7) and Maki Nakamura (Girl #15) tried to convince him to join the school's marksman club and crossbowman club respectively. Shuuichi was a crack shot with just about any type of firearm. He practiced frequently at his uncle's firing range and he had plans to join the Japanese army when he was older. Maki's skill with a bow and arrow was practically unheard of, as she had one of the sharpest pairs of eyes in the whole of the school. Blaine ultimately decided against joining either.

Kotoyo Fukumoto (Girl #18), the class virtuoso, suggested Blaine could join the school's band, as he had practiced the trumpet, the keyboard, and the guitar back in America. Blaine did like the offer at first, but he knew that working in a band was normally a long-term commitment, and he did not have the time for such a thing, so he graciously turned down Kotoyo's offer.

In the end, Blaine decided to try out for the musical, as he had taken a drama course in middle school. Tsukasa Yoshizawa (Boy #22), the head of the drama club, was delighted with Blaine's decision. Tsukasa was very committed to his work, but his flamboyant attitude and his arrogant behavior quickly started to annoy Blaine.

Fortunately, there were other members of class 3-A in the cast of the musical. There was the shrewd Riyeko Imamura (Girl #3) and the decisive Teru Machida (Boy #19). Both of them were easy to get along with, and they helped Blaine learn to tolerate Tsukasa's brashness.

All the same, no matter how hard he tried to avoid it or deny it, Blaine constantly felt himself getting closer and closer to Kiyomi. He began to wonder if she felt the same way. He also began wondering if she would have liked to be more than just friends.

He thought about this, and then he thought about whom else in his class was in that type of relationship.

Officially, there were only two couples in Class 3-A.

The first couple consisted of the placid Yasuko Oomori (Girl #6) and the defensive Mamoru Niwa (Boy #15). They were easily the most intimate couple in the whole of the class, as they were seen kissing each other during lunch and passing period quite often. Sometimes they made out during homeroom whenever they had the opportunity.

Blaine decided to ask them about their relationship. When he did, he was more than a little surprised to learn that they were planning on breaking up. The reasoning was that Mamoru was always busy helping his family on various projects while he rarely made time to meet up with Yasuko outside of class.

Blaine suggested that Mamoru properly learn how to prioritize his to-do list and work out a way to help his family at specific times. That way, he would know precisely when to spend time with Yasuko.

This schedule worked out perfectly. Blaine had actually saved Yasuko and Mamoru's relationship! They remained the class's most notable couple. However, they had never really slept with each other. They wanted to wait until they were in a committed relationship for that.

The other couple was composed of the tenacious Akina Kikuchi (Girl #8) and the reliable Fumitaka Hirata (Boy #17).

They were not as intimate as Mamoru and Yasuko, but their relationship – unlike Mamoru and Yasuko's – was not platonic. It was common knowledge that Fumitaka and Akina had slept with each other on at least one occasion, as they boasted about it to their friends over the summer.

Both of them were also known to be very vindictive. Akina never let another girl within grabbing distance of her boyfriend, and all the other boys would never risk Fumitaka catching them looking at his girlfriend. So while the two of them were not as close, they made certain that everyone else knew that they had "claimed their prize" and that no one else would "take their prize" away from them.

So those were the two couples in Class 3-A; the relationship between the boy and girl was very different, however. One was built upon affection and chastity; the other was built upon desire and sex. However, both relationships were stable. Neither couple had any long-term plans, but they showed no signs of breaking up.

There were rumors going around that the empathetic Yuuga Suzuki (Boy #11) and the graceful Yuriye Sakaguchi (Girl #9) might have been a third couple. But both of them continually denied this gossip, stating that they were "just friends."

This made sense to Blaine, as Yuuga was very independent, and Yuriye seemed to prefer the company of her friends.

After having a talk with Mamoru and Yasuko and another talk with Fumitaka and Akina, Blaine began to wonder if he actually had a chance of being with Kiyomi.

He thought about it: she had been the first one to officially welcome him to Japan, she had given him her cell phone number, and she said "good-bye" the Spanish way to him. Aside from that, Kiyomi did not seem to be involved in any manner with any of the other male students in Class 3-A.

Two months after the school year began, Blaine made his decision. He approached Kiyomi and asked her if she wanted to be his girlfriend. She enthusiastically replied "YES!" and embraced him lovingly.

Word quickly got around that the two of them were a couple. Asayo joked by saying "The native male not good enough for you, Kiyomi? Going for something a little… longer?"

Kiyomi gave Asayo the evil eye, quickly shutting her up.

A lot of the boys, including Tatsuo, congratulated Blaine for beginning a relationship with Kiyomi. Tatsuo explained to Blaine that he had been friends with Kiyomi for a very long time, and she had never really shown interest in any member of the male gender.

"At least now we know she isn't a dyke," Tatsuo had remarked.

Blaine pretended to laugh, but truthfully, he didn't find that joke funny. It was actually somewhat insulting. But Tatsuo was his best friend in Japan, so he let him make those jokes, just as Kiyomi let Asayo make her own dirty jokes.

Blaine's schedule was quickly filling up. Monday through Thursday after school, he would rehearse the musical with Tsukasa and the other performers. The musical turned out to be _Les Misérables_. The Japanese rendition of it was rather peculiar, but enjoyable all the same. Tsukasa held the lead role of Jean Valjean while Blaine played Javert.

Aside from the musical, the rest of Blaine's non-academic schedule was as follows: on Friday after classes ended, he would meet up with Eiko and Ichiko and work with the charity group. Kiyomi decided to join the group after a while. On Saturday, he would meet up with Tatsuo to watch (and translate) an American film. Tatsuo had an extensive collection; so they had no fear of running out of material to watch. Lastly, on Sunday, Blaine would meet up with Kiyomi at her house and hang out with her.

Blaine's first meeting with Kiyomi's parents proved to be a little awkward. Kiyomi had told her parents that she had gotten a boyfriend, but she never told them that he was from America. She did not feel any need to mention this, as her parents never seemed like the xenophobic type.

Fortunately, both of her parents accepted Blaine and did not object to their daughter's relationship with him. So they were free to socialize, as long as they kept the door to Kiyomi's room open whenever they went there.

Even though his social life took up much of his free time, Blaine managed to find ample time for his homework and studying, too. He kept up with the curriculum just like everyone else.

Blaine showed excellent potential in chemistry, calculus, and engineering. In fact, he was so dexterous in these subjects that Gakuto Yamashita (Boy #21), the class mastermind, offered Blaine to join his group.

Of course, Blaine knew better than to accept. Gakuto's "group" was more a gang, even though all of its members were not violent by nature. It was led by the outspoken Osamu Sano (Boy #9). The other members were the incisive Toshirou Oosaki (Boy #5), the burly Kazumitsu Hayashi (Boy #16), the feisty Kaminari Ishida (Girl #2), and the voluptuous Reika Fujihara (Girl #19).

All six of them had a reputation for handling things in a very dark fashion. Whenever someone gave them trouble, that unfortunate fool would usually wind up in the hospital or in heavy debt. So Blaine politely declined Gakuto's offer.

While Blaine got along fine with most of the boys in his class, he was not too bad with the girls in his class either. On certain occasions – mainly social gatherings – some of the girls had actually tried to seduce Blaine, even after it became public that he and Kiyomi were together. A few examples were the precocious Rumi Hakugi (Girl #16), the cogent Namiko Abe (Girl #1), and the avaricious Tamayo Shintani (Girl #10). Blaine tried his hardest to turn down the girls' "offers" without hurting their feelings, even though they proved to be very persuasive. These girls had a reputation for being very stubborn, but Blaine managed to avoid succumbing to temptation. He wanted to save his virginity for whoever would be his future wife. The girls respected his wishes, but still tried "persuading him" every once in a while.

Most of the other girls just wanted a platonic friendship with Blaine, much to his relief. One such example was Hina Tashima (Girl #13), the class jokester. Hina loved to pull pranks on people, and she loved Blaine's sense of humor. Most of Hina's pranks were relatively harmless, like when she switched around some of the chemicals before a chemistry lab. This resulted in Gakuto Yamashita's experiment blowing up in his face, leaving him covered with soot.

However, sometimes Hina's jokes got out of hand. One time, she took the taciturn Sayeko Watanabe (Girl #22)'s inhaler and hid it from her. Sayeko got an asthma attack later that day and she freaked out when she could not find her inhaler. Blaine angrily told Hina "Joke's over," took back the inhaler, and returned it to Sayeko before she needed to go to the hospital.

One day after cheerleading practice, Kiyomi and Asayo introduced Blaine to some of their friends who were on the squad. Four of these girls were in their own personal clique, and all of them were from Class 3-A. One of them was the aforementioned Yuriye Sakaguchi. The other three were the fearless Chiaki Iwasaki (Girl #4), the timid Shizuye Chida (Girl #14), and the steadfast Tomoe Yamakawa (Girl #21). Chiaki appeared to be the leader of the group, as the other three girls followed her around almost everywhere she went.

All-in-all, Blaine quickly became one of the most popular students in Class 3-A. In fact, the only person who seemed more charismatic than him was Genji Nishihara. Even though he never had a girlfriend, most of the girls had a crush on the Class President. Even Chieko Suda had a bit of a crush on him, even though she was his partner in the Student Council and their relationship was almost entirely business in nature.

The compulsive Misaki Ozawa (Girl #7) had by far the biggest crush on Genji. She would frequently follow him around, pass him notes with "I love you" written on them, and constantly fawn over his intelligence and physique.

One time during economics, everyone was assigned random partners to work together on a project. Blaine and Misaki ended up being partnered together. Once they were finished working, Misaki spent her time gazing over at Genji. Then she told Blaine all about her fantasies involving the Class President. Blaine just sat and unwillingly listened, figuring that Misaki desperately needed someone to talk to.

Other than economics, Blaine rarely talked with Misaki, as she never seemed to be interested in socializing with anyone. She would often try hanging out with Genji, but as the Class President, he was usually too busy to find free time.

There were a few other people in Class 3-A that Blaine rarely spoke to, but he was still on good terms with them. One example was Jakobe Tanaka (Boy #12), a dedicated follower of Buddhism who spent a lot of his free time meditating. Whenever Blaine tried talking to him, the two would end up having a conversation about the meaning of life and reincarnation. Truth be told, Blaine liked discussing philosophy and religion, but that was the extent of his conversations with Jakobe.

Another example was Sayeko Watanabe. Even though she did not blame Blaine for the incident with her inhaler, she mostly preferred to keep to herself. But she sometimes talked with him during literature, as both of them had a deep fondness for reading.

A third example was the reclusive Kazuki Chikuda (Boy #13). Kazuki was the only person in the class who seemed to be more distanced from everyone else than Blaine had been when he first arrived in Japan. He had always been a loner, preferring solitude over company. Blaine understood this, as everyone needs some solitude every now and then. But perpetual solitude was only good for hermits. Sometimes Blaine would work with Kazuki during history and talk about various things, hoping to find something that they were both interested in.

The one person in the class whose company Blaine did **not **enjoy in the least was Akiyo Furukawa (Boy #18). Akiyo was the class pervert ("There's one in every class," Genji had told Blaine). Often he was caught peeking in the girls' locker room before and after physical education. When he saw a girl he was especially interested in, he would often lick his lips like a depraved animal. Such licentiousness disgusted Blaine, even though he was used to witnessing that sort of behavior back in the United States.

Blaine knew to avoid Akiyo after one particular incident that took place three weeks after the school year began. That day, Akiyo met Blaine after class and casually asked him what he thought about Japanese women. Blaine simply told him that he enjoyed their company. In response, Akiyo scoffed and stated "Come with me, my friend. I'll show you another way to 'enjoy their company.'"

This took place long before Blaine and Kiyomi started dating; but Blaine still did not like to reminisce on it. Nor did he ever mention it to Kiyomi.

Akiyo ended up taking Blaine to a strip joint. As soon as he set foot through the door, Blaine did not feel at ease being there. He made sure to let Akiyo know that. Akiyo just dismissed his notion and said "Relax, Blaine. Just get comfortable. I'll introduce you to the girls."

Reluctantly, Blaine let Akiyo lead him inside. It turned out Akiyo's cousin ran the joint. That was how the two of them were able to get in. Once they got in, they quickly took their seats. One of the waitresses took Blaine's coat for him and hung it up on a rack.

After this, two of the dancers seemed to show great interest in Blaine, which made him feel even more uncomfortable. Akiyo assured him "Relax. They're just curious; they've never seen an American before."

This did not set Blaine's mind at ease. It just made him even more nervous, especially when the two girls crouched down next to him and began rubbing his arms.

One of them whispered in English into his ear "Calm down, white boy. We make you feel… excited."

Obviously her English was very limited. The other girl whispered into his other ear in strained English "We hear… American men… sweeter. Is that true?"

"I speak Japanese," Blaine informed them, speaking in their language.

The two of them smiled and said "Good, good."

"I guess they want to know if you moan in Japanese, too," Akiyo remarked, smirking. A third girl was sitting on Akiyo's knee and he was stroking her back delicately.

"Akiyo, can I ask you something?" Blaine asked, trying hard to ignore the scantily-clad women at his sides.

"Sure, what do you want to know?" said Akiyo, most of his attention still on the girl.

"Exactly how many times have you… done the deed?" said Blaine.

Akiyo lightly shook his head and answered "Never, I'm afraid. I'm still a virgin. I just like hanging out around here."

Blaine decided he had had enough. Being in a strip club was bad enough; there was no way he was going to stay there for any amount of time if the person who invited him was a virgin, too. He pushed his chair back, stood up, picked up his backpack, and announced "I really should be getting back to the embassy. I just remembered I have… an appointment with the ambassador."

He did not really have to speak with the Kanagawa Prefecture's ambassador, but this was the best excuse he could think up at the time.

Before Akiyo could get in another word, Blaine took his coat and stormed out the front door. He was gone by the time Akiyo came outside. Thus, Blaine's association with Akiyo Furukawa was brought to a swift end.

Blaine often wondered why some of the girls in Class 3-A tried seducing **him **while they ignored Akiyo. After all, Blaine always said "no" while Akiyo was more than willing to accept the girls' advances.

Other than this incident, Blaine's school year in Japan went along very well. The hardest part of all was getting used to the difference in climate. Because Japan was in the Eastern Hemisphere, the seasons ran through different months. March, April, and May were the autumn months; June, July, and August were the winter months; September, October, and November were the spring months; December, January, and February were the summer months.

On the plus side, the seasons that followed the school year in Japan were the same seasons that followed the school year in America. At the very least, the climate made Blaine feel at home.

Blaine had documented all of his experiences with his friends, both in and out of school. As it turned out, one notebook was not enough for him to work with. By the time December came around, Blaine had begun working on a fourth notebook.

Once a week, he would call his mother in America and let her know what all he had done since the last time he called her. She was eager to know all about her son's experiences.

There had been a dance in August for the ninth-graders at Keio Shonan-Fujisawa Junior High School. It was at that dance that Blaine and Kiyomi had their first kiss.

Near the end of the night, there was a dance-off contest. Everyone was putting their best efforts into it, trying to come out on top. Most couples did specific dances; dances indigenous to Asia. However, when Blaine and Kiyomi stepped into the spotlight, they demonstrated a whole array of classic dancing from America and Europe. Blaine had taught them to Kiyomi beforehand. They had spent weeks preparing for this, and it ultimately ended up paying off. They won the dance-off.

After Genji and Chieko gave them the trophy, Kiyomi and Blaine held it high into the air as their surrounding classmates cheered thunderously. Then they looked into each other's eyes and solemnly kissed each other on the lips in front of their entire grade.

The cheering quickly died down and most people watched them in awe. It was well-known that Kiyomi and Blaine were dating, but this was the first time any of them had ever seen an Asian kiss an American.

When the two of them came apart, the cheering briefly resumed. Tatsuo and Asayo went over to their best friends and patted them on the back, saying "Congratulations! I knew you could do it!"

Unbeknownst to Kiyomi and Blaine, they were actually referring to the kiss, not the trophy.

…

Before anyone knew it, December came along. Everyone was glad that graduation was approaching. Everyone, except Blaine Rhodes.

On the next to last day of class, Ms. Kawano made an announcement. Every student in Class 3-A paid careful attention to her. She told them:

"I am proud of all of you. All forty-five of you. You've demonstrated amazing potential in these past nine months. Many of you will be moving on to the Keio Senior High School and then the Keio University. Some of you will start looking for an early job. Some of you may decide to make your own businesses. But regardless of what you do, you should know I'm proud of you."

Everyone applauded. After a few moments, Ms. Kawano went on:

"Tomorrow, the two-week class trip begins. As a special treat, we will be seeing a movie in town tomorrow night. Some of you may decide to skip classes tomorrow, but make sure you are here by the last bell; otherwise you will miss the bus. Do you all have your permission slips?"

Everyone except Blaine held up a piece of paper that had been signed by their parents or guardians. A few people were surprised to see Blaine keep his hand down, including Ms. Kawano.

"Do you have yours, Blaine-kun?" queried Ms. Kawano.

"I'm afraid I do not, Kawano-sensei," Blaine replied, "Tomorrow is my last day here. I'm not going on the class trip."

Several people were not expecting to hear that. "What?" shouted Tatsuo as he jumped to his feet.

"The exchange program only permits me to be here to study," Blaine explained, "Aside from that, I've already graduated from junior high school. In America, junior high goes from sixth to eighth grade, not seventh through ninth. Therefore, I cannot come on the class trip or stay for graduation."

There was shocked silence for the longest of times. Then Ms. Kawano stepped forward and asked "You are certain you cannot remain in Japan for a little longer?"

"Believe me, ma'am, I don't want to leave," Blaine told her, "Not at all. I've grown to love this country, as well as this school. I do wish I could stay."

"This… is final?" said Ms. Kawano.

Blaine sat thinking in deep thought for a very long time. Then he replied with "There might be a way. I'll try talking to the American ambassador tonight. At the very least, I could make it to the movie. I cannot guarantee anything, but it's worth a try."

Ms. Kawano smiled and said "I'm glad to know that. You've made a great impact on this class, Blaine-kun. I'd hate to see you leave so prematurely."

"Thank you, ma'am," Blaine replied, grinning up at his teacher.

…

That night, when Blaine got back to the American embassy, he spoke with the ambassador and asked him if it was possible for him to remain in Japan a little longer.

The ambassador told him that he would have to pull some strings, but it could be done. He had good connections around Japan.

The next morning, at breakfast, the ambassador told Blaine that his request to stay had been confirmed by the government. Blaine thanked the ambassador and also asked him how he managed this task. The ambassador told him that it had been surprisingly easy; all he literally had to do was ask. The government confirmed Blaine's request in a heartbeat.

The ambassador was stunned as to how they guaranteed the request so quickly; but Blaine did not mind.

…

Everyone in Class 3-A was pleased to learn that Blaine was coming on the trip, especially Kiyomi and Tatsuo.

Because it was officially the last day of school for the ninth-graders, there were no real classes; just one long study-hall.

Kiyomi and Blaine spent a lot of time going over the schedule for the trip. They were mostly just glad that he could stay in Japan with her. He was going to miss her more than anyone when he left.

…

At the end of the day, the bus arrived. The 45 students of Class 3-A piled on; most were barely able to contain their excitement.

Kiyomi and Blaine spent the first part of it wrapped in each other's arms, gazing out the window to admire the scenery.

"Did I tell you my mother is arriving in Japan today?" Blaine asked Kiyomi.

"No," she replied, "You didn't. What's she like?"

"She's just the greatest mother a guy could ask for," Blaine enlightened her, "I'm an only child, and my father's work often requires him to be out of the country. So it's usually just her and me year-round."

"I'll bet she'll be happy to see you after nine months," Kiyomi theorized.

"I know she will," Blaine remarked, "I just hope she'll be able to wait another two weeks. I was originally supposed to see her tonight."

"Well, maybe you can call her when we're at the theater," Kiyomi suggested, "I heard we'll be watching a really old, really long film from 1954. I've seen it before; it's called _Seven Samurai_. Do you know that movie?"

"Know it?" said Blaine. "Of course I do! That's one of the films made by the legendary Akira Kurosawa himself. In fact, in 2009, Empire Magazine made a list of the 100 best films not in the English language. _Seven Samurai _was number one, right at the top."

"Really?" said Kiyomi, impressed, "I never knew that."

"I saw it once before," Blaine told her, "You're right about its length; it's over three and a-half hours long. There's sure to be an intermission. I guess I'll call my mother then."

"Great," Kiyomi agreed, laying her head on Blaine's shoulder, "I'm hoping you'll introduce me to her."

"Of course I will," he remarked, "I've told her all about you. She probably likes you already."

Just then, Blaine felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Genji Nishihara standing in the seat behind him, smiling. He was holding a piece of paper in his arm.

"Chieko and I are working on our speeches," he told his American friend, "I wanted to see what you thought of what I got so far."

Blaine nodded and took the paper. He read it over. He was really amused by the last paragraph:

"The presence of an American student, our own Blaine Rhodes, has opened our eyes to new forms of tolerance and acceptance. Had it not been for the exchange program, most of us probably would have gone our own lives without meeting an American. We'd have no way of knowing their lifestyle, their preferences, or their tastes, except for what the government tells us. But my good friend Blaine has proven that no one can be judged by their nationality. An individual is part of a group, but the group is not always part of the individual."

"I like that," Blaine slyly commented as he handed the paper to Genji.

"I thought you would," said Chieko, who was sitting next to Genji. She sat up and stated "Genji's still working on an end to his speech. Hopefully we'll come up with one during the trip."

"I'm sure you will," Blaine remarked.

Genji and Chieko spent the rest of the drive working. Little did they know that in a few hours, the graduation speech would be the least of their worries.

…

At around six o'clock, the bus pulled up to a movie theater. Ms. Kawano had already ordered forty-six tickets and gave each student one, keeping the last for herself.

As Blaine stepped off the bus, he noticed that the driver and the stewardess were taking something out of a cabinet. It looked like… metal canisters. Blaine just dismissed the idea and walked inside.

The theater was small, but the screen was wide. As it turns out, the entire theater had been rented out for Ms. Kawano's class. Everyone spread out amongst the rows. Many preferred to sit in the back while a few sat near the front. Kiyomi, Blaine, Tatsuo, and Asayo sat near the center. Ms. Kawano was also in their row, sitting near the end.

After about fifteen minutes, the movie began. Blaine had seen _Seven Samurai _only one time beforehand. Obviously this version was remastered, as its quality and sound had been notably improved.

The first half of the movie ended at around eight-thirty. Intermission began. Several students went to get snacks or use the bathroom. Blaine stepped out to call his mother. He took out his cell phone and dialed up his mother's mobile number.

Then something strange happened. The call did not even get through. The line must have been malfunctioning or something.

Blaine tried dialing again. Once again, it did not get through.

He decided to ask the theater manager about the problem. The manager merely replied "In order to ensure that cell phones do not interfere with the movies, we disable the wireless connection whenever the movie is playing."

"But it's intermission," Blaine pointed out, "Can't I at least make a call during then?"

"I'm sorry, sir," stated the manager, "But regulations are regulations."

Blaine just shrugged, turned to the front entrance, and started walking towards it, saying "Alright, then. I'll just step outside for a minute and make my call out there."

Before he got halfway, the manger stopped him and said "Sir, you cannot leave the theater until the movie is over."

Blaine looked over his shoulder and asked annoyed "Why not, pray tell? Is that 'regulation,' too?"

"Yes it is," was all the manager said, "Please return to your seat immediately."

Blaine stood there for a moment, glaring the emotionless man in the eye. Then he stomped off in frustration, saying "Very well; I can wait."

Had Blaine made it to the front entrance, he would have discovered that the doors had been electronically locked.

…

When he got back to his seat, Kiyomi asked him "How's your mother doing?"

"I couldn't reach her," Blaine responded, "The wireless connection has been severed until the movie's over."

"Why didn't you go outside?" asked Tatsuo.

"I tried to," explained Blaine, "But the manager wouldn't let me. He was acting very oddly, as if something was on his mind."

"I'll tell you something odd," said Asayo, "I went to get some candy from the snack bar. The clerk handed it to me and looked away, saying 'I hope you'll like your treat.' She said it in a really sorrowful voice, as if something was bothering her. There was even a tear in her eye."

"Do you think something's up?" stated Yuuga Suzuki, who was sitting in the row behind them, "The entire theater's staff looks as if they're going through a depression right now."

"Maybe they're all getting a pay-cut," joked Hina Tashima, who sat a few rows forward.

"Or they just hate their jobs," suggested Kenzou Iwamoto.

"Let's just forget about it all," Genji decided, "After all, we're on vacation!"

Everyone quickly agreed with Genji's idea. A minute later, intermission ended and the movie resumed.

…

An hour later, Blaine started feeling tired. He wasn't sure how he could feel tired so early. Months ago, he had gotten used to the difference in time zones between Japan and California, which was where he lived in America.

He wondered why he could feel so tired, especially since the climax of the movie was coming up.

After a minute, he hypothesized that the cumulative stress he had undergone over the school year was finally catching up with him. He thought that… until he looked to his right at his girlfriend.

Kiyomi was fast asleep. Her head was resting against her shoulder.

Blaine scoffed and said under his breath "There's… exc-exc-excitement for you. Right, Tatsuo?"

He turned his head the other way and saw something else. Tatsuo was leaning forward with his head on his knees. Blaine slowly lifted his head up and saw that his best friend was unconscious.

Now Blaine started getting worried. It was not like Tatsuo or Kiyomi to fall asleep on the spot like this. He tried his hardest to stand up. Then he looked around the room.

Everyone was out like a rock. Genji, Asayo, Chieko, Goro… even the normally hyperactive Tomoe Yamakawa did not stir.

"Better… tell… Kawano-sensei," Blaine muttered as he struggled to pull himself to his feet. To his despair, Ms. Kawano was asleep just like everyone else.

Blaine started to panic. Something was going on; something very bad. Despite his fatigue, he made it to the door and tried pushing it open. The door was locked. Blaine pounded on it, trying his best to shout "Open… the door! Open the door!"

He could see the manager standing on the other side, looking through the glass at him. There appeared to be a tear sliding down his cheek. All he did was approach the door and mouth to Blaine "I'm so sorry."

That was the last thing Blaine saw before he dropped to the ground and lost consciousness.

**Note: The Program begins in the next chapter. The "new rule" I mentioned in the summary will be introduced, too. What do you think of this so far? Do you like the characters? I'm going to try to give each and every one of the students a bit of time for character development before they are… eliminated. But I can assure you; the killings will start very soon.**


	4. Rules Old And New

Blaine woke up several hours later with a slight headache. He must have hit his head on the ground when he collapsed. He rubbed his temple and slowly sat up.

That was when he realized he was sitting at a desk. It was not the same desk as the one he had at Keio Shonan-Fujisawa Junior High School. Its surface was a little rougher and there were crude drawings all over it.

Blaine looked around the room and saw that everyone else was sitting at a desk as well. They were sitting in the exact same seating arrangement they had followed all year.

The lights were off and the shutters were drawn, but Blaine had very good night vision. He quickly determined that everyone was accounted for, much to his relief.

It was a little cold in the room, so Blaine decided to fasten up his jacket. But when he reached his shirt collar, he felt something on his neck. Something cold and metallic, like a steel necklace. It was not tightly constricting, but it was firmly clasped around his throat. He thought about trying to pull it off, but his instincts told him to leave it alone for the moment. After all, he did not know what it could be or what it was capable of; he dared not mess with something he knew nothing about. So he decided to just stay put.

All around him, his classmates started waking up one-by-one. Everyone started whispering all at once. Blaine could make out random comments such as "Talk about a knockout!" "The fuck is going on?" "Are we all here?" "I have a bad feeling about this." "Where the hell are we?" "Is there something on my neck?" "This place looks like shit!" "I don't like this; not at all."

Blaine could see that everyone else had a collar around his or her neck, too. But the most anyone dared to do was finger it closely. They were all wise enough not to mess with it.

After a minute, a few people started looking around for their friends and got out of their desks. Blaine ran to Kiyomi and she welcomed him with open arms. He could see that she was afraid. They were all afraid. Kiyomi felt like crying; Blaine whispered "Shhh… It's alright. I'm here. Everything's going to be fine."

"I certainly hope so," remarked Asayo, "I wonder if this is the class trip?"

"If it is, the faculty must have a very twisted sense of humor," Tatsuo commented, "Hell of a way to start it out, if you ask me."

"Guys, I don't think this is the class trip," Chieko stated nervously, "I think this is something… much, much different."

"Like what, Chieko?" asked Riyeko Imamura.

"What else could it be?" said Wataru Koumura.

"Well, I have only one theory," Chieko slowly replied. She was trembling, almost as if she was going to collapse. Genji and Goro went to her and helped her stand up straight. Then they escorted her to her chair.

"Take it easy, Chieko," Genji instructed his partner, as she sat down "So, what do you think this is?"

"I… I think…" Chieko began, but stopped herself. She then resumed "Maybe… it's better I **don't **say."

"And maybe it's better than you **do**," stated Genji. He put his hands on Chieko's shoulders and knelt down to her level. He looked her in the eyes and said softly "Now, tell us; what do you think is going on here?"

Chieko did not respond immediately. She just rubbed her hands together and fidgeted for a few seconds. After a long minute of silence, Osamu Sano started getting annoyed. He shouted "Damnit, Chieko. Where the hell are we?"

"Calm down, Osamu," Kaminari Ishida said to her group's leader, "Now's not the time to get stuff up our asses!"

"Then what do you suggest we do?" yelled Tamayo Shintani, "This isn't exactly any Good Ship Lollipop here!"

"Will you all just shut up so that Chieko can speak?" shouted Genji.

This alarmed most of the class. Genji rarely raised his voice unless he was angry, and they did not see him get angry very often. Everyone quickly quieted down and turned to Chieko. Genji spoke as delicately as one possibly could and said "Go on, Chieko, please; where do you think we are?"

Chieko took a deep breath and replied in a disturbingly tranquil voice "I think… we might actually be in… the Program."

That was enough to set off most of the class. Several of the girls screamed, several of the boys shuttered, and the rest just looked as if they'd seen a ghost.

Across the room, Sayeko Watanabe was having an asthma attack. She leaned against a desk as she struggled to catch her breath. Hitoshi Ohara went over to help her. He put her arm over his shoulder and led her back to his desk. Jakobe Tanaka walked over to her and asked in concern "Are you alright? What do you need?"

"My… my inhaler…" she weakly uttered, pointing to her bag, "F-front pocket."

Jakobe quickly took Sayeko's bag, unzipped the front pocket, pulled out her inhaler, and gave it to her. To her relief, it was full. She put the nozzle into her mouth and gave herself two shots. After catching her breath, she managed to calm down a little. But like almost everyone else in the room, she was still freaking out.

Blaine was the only one who remained indifferent to Chieko's theory. He was just confused by her words. However, Kiyomi was now sobbing into his shoulder; so he reasoned out on his own that whatever "the Program" was, it must have been something very unpleasant and very terrible.

Blaine stated aloud "What exactly is this 'Program?' I'm not familiar with it."

Everyone looked to him as one, staring at him as if they had misheard him.

"You mean… you don't know?" uttered Kazumitsu Hayashi.

"No, I don't," Blaine replied bluntly, "And it would appear I'm the only one among us that doesn't. So would anyone care to 'enlighten' me?"

No one answered at first; obviously, they did not want to talk about this "Program." After a few moments' long silence, Goro stepped forward and began to explain. He started off with "The Program is the one thing that every ninth-grade student in this country dreads the most, especially around graduation time."

"I can see that on my own," stated Blaine, "But what **is **it? That's what I want to know."

"I would have thought you'd know of it, Blaine," remarked Genji, "You've proven on multiple occasions that you researched just about every Japanese school law before you came to this country."

"And I did," Blaine confirmed, "But I guess I missed a few; none of the ones I looked up said anything about a 'Program.'"

"Did you ever look up the Millennium Educational Reform Act?" queried Genji.

Blaine stood thinking for a while, and then his eyes flashed open. He looked back at Genji and replied "I actually did try looking that one up several times. But every time I tried to open it back home, I was denied access."

"Makes sense," commented Genji, "I suppose now's as good a time as any to find out what that law is all about. You see-"

Before Genji could say another word, Chiaki Iwasaki suddenly interrupted him, saying "Shhh!"

The rest of the class turned their attention towards her.

"What is it, Chiaki?" asked Shizuye Chida.

Chiaki slowly raised her hand to her ear and whispered to the others "Don't you guys hear that?"

Everyone remained absolutely silent to take a moment to listen. After a few seconds, Tsukasa Yoshizawa flatly remarked "I don't hear anything."

Several of the others shushed him. Chiaki urged him "Try listening harder!"

Once more, everyone waited in silence. This time, they did hear something. It sounded like… footfalls. Boots marching across a concrete floor. The sound was actually resonating from inside the building. When everyone listened even more closely, they realized that the footsteps were getting closer! Someone was coming right towards them!

Soon enough, the footsteps reached the door to the room. The students heard the sound of keys being clinked and locks being turned. A moment later, the door was swiftly opened. A man in a gray business suit entered the room, turning the lights on as he entered. He was followed by at least a dozen Japanese soldiers, all armed and in full uniform.

There was in fact a teacher's desk in front of the students' desks. The man in the business suit was holding on to a tan file in one hand. He dropped it onto the desk and solemnly turned to face the forty-five students of Class 3-A. He frowned when he saw that most of them were out of their desks.

"Return to your seats immediately," he uttered in a hauntingly calm voice. Slowly, everyone made their way back to their desks. Blaine was among the last to sit down, and his desk was directly in front of the man in the business suit.

The man himself appeared to be about thirty-five years old. His hair was neatly combed, he had a strong build, and whenever he smiled his grin bore an expression of decadent pleasure. At first glance, one would have thought him to be a bureaucrat. But the typical bureaucrat did not carry a Walther PPK in his belt. This man did, and he looked more than willing to use it.

"Welcome, my young friends, to the most exciting event of your life!" he announced in a dramatic tone of delight, "I know you must have many questions at the moment, but just bear with me for a few moments. All will be explained in time."

The classmates put aside their questions for the present; all of them gave the man in the gray suit their undivided attention.

The man grinned and continued speaking: "Allow me to introduce myself. I am your new teacher, Shigenori Furutani. I'd try to learn you all by your names, but most of you probably won't be around long enough for that to matter. So I will simply skip the formalities and get straight to the point."

There was a brief pause, but the pause generated an ominous atmosphere all over the room. Blaine felt quite uncomfortable by this man's talk, especially with him claiming that most of them would not "be around long enough."

After a moment, Furutani went on: "I want you all to ask yourselves something. How much do you like your friends? Specifically the ones from this class? I'm certain most of you would trust your friends with an errand, a favor, a secret, or a personal possession. But how many of you feel you can trust a friend with your life? Don't even bother raising your hand; we're going to put that theory to the test over the next few days. Just imagine all the excitement that will come out of it: Betrayal, deception, hatred, revelations of the past, and so much more! Oh, just another glorious day in the Program!"

At those words, the color drained from every single student's face. Chieko was right; it **was **the Program!

Of course, Blaine knew nothing of the Program; Genji had been interrupted before he had gotten a chance to explain it. Blaine was really feeling singled out at this point, being the only one in his class that did not know about such a thing. So he decided to find out on his own and satisfy his curiosity once and for all, even if he did not like what came of it.

Ever so slowly, Blaine raised his hand into the air. Furutani easily noticed him and pointed to him, saying "Yes, young sir? You have a question, I presume?"

"I do indeed… sir," Blaine tentatively responded. He had a feeling that this man was dangerous. In a few minutes, his suspicions would be confirmed. "Forgive me if I sound… ignorant, but I must ask you; what exactly is this 'Program?' I feel foolish being the only one among my class that has no prior knowledge of this subject."

Furutani raised an eyebrow. "You honestly know nothing of it?"

"All I know is that it has something to do with the Millennium Educational Reform Act of 1947," Blaine clarified, "Other than that, I'm completely in the dark."

Furutani scoffed and stepped forward. Then he explained in detail: "It's partially because of your country that it the law was passed in the first place. Your country dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August of 1945. Over one hundred thousand people dead; thousands more sick and dying of radiation poisoning. What choice did Japan have but to surrender? But of course, that doesn't matter. All that does matter is that we never fully recovered from Hiroshima and Nagasaki. So in 1947, the Millennium Educational Reform Act was passed in order to keep this country's youth in line, as well as prepare them in case another Great War was to ensue. The Millennium Educational Reform Act has proven to be quite controversial, but no one has ever tried repealing it. Most likely because of how effective and popular the Program has become. Now **here** is the part that answers your question. So I'd suggest you listen closely, as I do not like repeating myself."

Blaine edged forward slightly to let Furutani know that he had his undivided attention. The man in the gray suit continued with the explanation: "Every year, the government selects a completely random class of ninth-graders from anywhere in the country from a lottery. The entire class is then brought to a secluded area and entered into a fierce game of survival, known by most as 'the Program.' The audiences at home prefer to call it by its proper name: Battle Royale. Now, you see, my young American scholar, the rules of Battle Royale are fairly simple: Kill or be killed, and the last man standing wins."

A firm idea of the Program started dawning on Blaine as to what the Program really was. Furutani could tell that the message was getting through to him, based simply on the shocked expression that was spreading across Blaine's face.

Furutani quickly added in: "Just in case there's any ambiguity left in my words, I'll simplify it even further: the students in the selected class must kill each other off… until only one of them is left alive."

Blaine felt his breath leave him. Now everything made perfect sense to him. He just felt even more foolish for not having asked anyone about this before that day. His curiosity was finally set aside, but it was replaced by sheer terror and shock.

This was not happening, he told himself. It should not happen. Could not happen. Would not happen. Must not happen. No matter how much he denied it or doubted it, he was unable to ignore it. Deep down, he already knew that all of this was really happening right in front of him.

"So then… the movie theater…" he spoke softly, realization dawning on him.

"Yes, the movie theater was arranged weeks in advance," Furutani replied, "Renting out the entire theater was easy enough; the hard part was singling out the theater itself when we ventilated the room with the knockout gas. But we always find a way to pull through. I recall that the staff was reluctant to partake in your capture. But when one is forced to pick between children of strangers or their own families, I suppose it is only natural for one to be more concerned about the latter's well-being."

Furutani was enjoying himself; he adored having so much control in his present situation. He was also taking the strain off of it by making sick jokes. Of course, none of the students laughed, but the soldiers chuckled every once in a while.

"Now then," Furutani announced, as he turned to the chalkboard, "Before I get into the rules, I must address your present scenario. Yes, this is really happening; I suggest you let that sink in. The sooner you believe it, the sooner you will be able to grasp the concept of this game. Right now, you should abandon all hope of rescue or dismissal. We do not accept bribes, extortions, or trade-offs, regardless of how wealthy or prestigious your family is. And yes, your parents have already been informed. Many of them were wise enough to accept the news and leave it at that. Some of them were foolish enough to threaten the messenger. Those of you whose parents fall into the latter category, you will most likely be reunited with them very soon. But not at your home."

Several of the girls in the class were already close to tears, while some of the boys looked away angrily. Blaine had only met the parents of two of his classmates: Kiyomi's and Tatsuo's. He hoped that all of them had not protested when they had been given the bad news.

Then something suddenly occurred to Blaine. He raised his hand again. Furutani sighed in slight annoyance and asked him "What is it, white boy?"

"I was just wondering, sir…" Blaine began hesitantly, "Who did you contact on my behalf? No one in my family lives in this country."

Furutani stood thinking for a moment; then he turned around and picked up the file he had tossed onto the teacher's desk. He opened it up and flipped to a certain page.

"Ah, Rhodes Blaine-kun," he announced, turning back to face the class, "So that's the name of our special guest. Charmed to finally know you."

"The feeling is mutual," Blaine grumbled in a bothered tone.

"Because you were staying with the ambassador to the Kanagawa Prefecture, we paid him a little visit at the American embassy in Fujisawa," explained Furutani, "I myself delivered the message under military escort. The ambassador expressed his disbelief and shock to a certain extent. He did protest your selection, but he did not physically threaten me. Of course, even if he had, there was nothing we could do about it, as he was protected under law. And fortunately for you, the same thing goes for your mother."

Blaine's eyes lit up when he heard those words. He uttered in a quick voice "What… are you talking about?"

"Your mother – Doctor Hillary Rhodes, I believe – was with the ambassador when we delivered the message," Furutani elucidated, "She handled it very well at first. She went to great length to retain her composure and her image. But before long, she broke down completely. She then proceeded to launch violent threats at yours truly and my colleagues. Had she not been protected under the ambassadorial law, she would have met a most unpleasant end."

Furutani paused for a moment and then looked up at the ceiling. Then he muttered in mild amusement "It's a shame really, Rhodes. Your mother is a very beautiful woman… for an American. Had she not been protected under law, there's no telling what my men and I would have done to her. Who knows… we probably would have had us a pink party right then and there… Just the thought of it brings me pleasure."

Blaine knew full well that in Japan, some people used "pink party" as a euphemism for "gang-rape." To hear someone talk that way about his mother filled him with a great rage. He stood up from his desk and shouted in anger "You shut up about my mother, you deranged bastard son of a harlot! **No one **talks about her like that!"

Furutani raised an eyebrow and simply smirked in response. "You have a fiery spirit. An ideal feature for a potential winner of the Program."

"If you think for one second I'll play along with this sick, twisted bullshit game of yours, you are **wrong**!" Blaine shouted.

"Of course you say that now," remarked Furutani, "I guess you still need a little convincing. I said earlier that your mother and the ambassador were protected under law, as they were staying at the American embassy. Unfortunately, the same thing did not apply to your teacher."

This attracted the attention of most of the class.

"What have you done with Kawano-sensei?" demanded Chieko.

Furutani just smiled and turned to two of the soldiers standing at the door. He nodded his head once at them. In response, one of them opened the door and the other stepped under the frame and made a gesture to some more soldiers standing guard outside.

A moment later, two more soldiers wheeled in a chair with wheels. A woman was sitting down in the chair. Her hands were handcuffed behind her back, her feet were handcuffed around the front axle, and a black sack was drawn over her head.

The soldiers rolled her chair over to the teacher's desk and left her there. Furutani then walked over to the woman and stood next to her. Many of the students were certain they knew who this woman was; their theories were confirmed when Furutani removed the black sack from her head.

There was their teacher, Nami Kawano. But she looked much different from the way her class knew her. Nami Kawano was a beautiful woman who always dressed in style and elegance. She never used much makeup; just enough to brighten her complexion. Her long black hair was usually tied up in a ponytail and it ran a few inches below her shoulders. Her smile always brought warm feelings to her students.

The woman they saw in the chair held a quite different appearance. Her clothes were wrinkled, torn, and messy, almost as if they had been thrown onto her. Her face, arms, and body were covered with cuts and bruises, and had her shirt been removed, they would have seen even worse injuries along her torso. Her hair had been messed up, some parts of it flowing in different directions. Her makeup was smeared across her face; her cheeks were stained with tear-streaks.

Furutani turned to the students and announced "Whenever a class is chosen for the Program, the teacher more often than not puts up heavy opposition to the students' selection. The ones that do not oppose are allowed to return to their jobs. The ones that do, such as Kawano-sensei here… we make an example of them."

All the students could see their teacher's pain and most of them felt for her. She had been beaten and raped by Furutani and the soldiers repeatedly less than an hour before the students had woken up.

"At least we still had our pink party," commented Furutani. Some of the soldiers chuckled in agreement as he added in "Kawano-sensei was more than a suitable alternative to young Blaine's mother."

Ms. Kawano slowly looked up at her class and looked around at them. She spoke in a voice that was just barely audible enough for them all to hear: "I'm so sorry. I should have tried harder to protect you all. Now you're all going to fall… because I wasn't strong enough to save you."

"Kawano-sensei, you mustn't say such things!" stated Chiaki Iwasaki to her teacher. She looked at Furutani and demanded fearlessly "Release her, she has done no wrong!"

"Untrue," stated Furutani, "She struck two of my men before we were forced to resort to more extreme measures. That in itself is punishable by death."

Once more, Furutani redirected his attention towards Blaine.

"She particularly protested your involvement in the Program, Master Rhodes," Furutani informed the American scholar, "Even after we tried 'persuading' her to see things our way, she kept going on about how you did not belong here."

"He was supposed to go home today!" Ms. Kawano yelled at Furutani, trying to sound brave "I encouraged him to stay until graduation! It's my fault he's still here!"

"No, Kawano-sensei," Blaine spoke softly to his teacher as he remained standing, "You had no way of knowing that this class would be selected for the Program. It's my own fault I'm here."

"Regardless of whose fault it is, the rest of you must accept the present circumstances," Furutani stated flatly. He looked around the classroom and proclaimed "Watch this very closely; I will only do it once."

At that, one of the soldiers put the black sack back over Ms. Kawano's head and tightened it up. Then another soldier leaned the chair back so that Ms. Kawano's head was angled towards the ceiling. Furutani removed his Walther PPK from his belt, put the barrel of the gun to the center of her forehead, pulled back the hammer, and squeezed his index finger around the trigger.

So much activity happened in the next second. Several students screamed, others recoiled, and others were just left frozen in their seats. Immediately after Furutani pulled the trigger, an ear-piercing sound filled the room and a bullet was projected from the gun's chamber. It sailed forward and went straight through the black sack, through Ms. Kawano's forehead, into her skull, through the right cerebral hemisphere of her brain, through the back of her skull, through the back of her head, and through the other end of the black sack. The bullet's final destination was the chalkboard. It ended up lodged just above the rack on the board.

A moment later, the soldier holding back the seat released it, and Ms. Kawano's body slumped forward. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that she was dead. Nor was there any doubt that they were not dreaming, hallucinating, or living out a very sick joke. They were in the Program, alright. There was no denying that this was really happening.

Furutani gestured to the same two soldiers to wheel the chair out of the room. Once they had removed Ms. Kawano's body, the door was closed. The only difference between before and after Ms. Kawano had been in the room was that the chalkboard had a bullet lodged near the bottom of it, as well as splatters of Ms. Kawano's blood in various spots.

Furutani pulled back his gun's hammer once more to eject the empty bullet shell from his gun's chamber and then he returned his gun to his belt. He rubbed his hands together and walked back to the front of the desk. His expression had not changed in the slightest; he still bore that same sadistic smile.

He leaned back against the desk and announced "Now then, on to the game. It cannot officially begin until all the rules are explained, after all. Here is where you must pay very close attention, and act as if your lives depend on these rules. Because they do."

Most of the students were still unable to believe that their beloved teacher was gone. However, they had little choice but to accept it. So they all sat up straight and paid especially close attention to Furutani.

The Program Instructor began with: "Every year, the Program takes place in a new location. Sometimes it's an island, sometimes it's a ghetto, sometimes it's an abandoned university campus. This year, we have brought you to a more cosmopolitan area. We are in an industrious section in the neighboring Saitama Prefecture. For security reasons, I will not specify which city. All you need to know is that the entire town was evacuated within the past few days in preparation for this. We told them it was due to threat of a terrorist attack, which was more than enough to encourage them to cooperate."

Furutani then walked over to the windows and opened the blinds. There were bars on the other side of the glass, but all the students could catch a nice glimpse of the city. There were many tall buildings and corporations. They could even make out a skyscraper a few blocks down.

"Beautiful, is it not?" stated Furutani, "A much better selection than usual, I'd say. We've got five-star hotels, computer companies, and some of the best pubs in the Prefecture. All without staff, of course. This game of survival heavily involves a 'do it yourself' connotation. You'll be pleased to know that the electricity and running water still work. However, internet and phone lines have been disabled; there is no way for you to contact the outside world."

Furutani then gestured towards the door. It was opened once more and two soldiers wheeled in a large Bellman cart. There were forty-five duffle bags piled on the cart. Each of the bags had the Japanese symbol for one of the numbers between 1 and 22 stitched onto it, as well as either the Japanese symbol for "Male" or "Female." There was one bag that was left without a symbol.

Furutani directed everyone's attention to the cart and announced "Along with your backpacks, you'll be given these supply packs. Inside them, you'll find some provisions that will last you over the next few days. You will each get bottled water, field rations, a map, a compass, a flashlight, and a watch. Most importantly, you'll each get a weapon. It could be anything from a submachine gun Uzi to a stapler. The weapons were randomly assigned in order to eliminate any unfairness, so not everyone will get a gun or a knife. Make a note to check your bags when you leave the building."

Furutani then moved over to the chalkboard, picked up a piece of chalk, and began drawing a large square. The rectangle was ten inches in length on each side. Then he divided the square into ten rows, and split each of the rows into ten columns. He then gave each of the rows a letter in the English alphabet from A to J in descending vertical order and he gave each of the columns a number from 1 to 10 in descending horizontal order. After that, he drew a large "X" on the square labeled "C-5."

Once that was done, Furutani turned to the class and announced "The city encompasses an approximate total of one hundred square miles, each divided into different zones. Your current location – the city's main high school – is located right here in C-5. I will remain here with the soldiers throughout the duration of the game, monitoring your progress. There are cameras installed all over the city; we'll be watching you from every corner."

Furutani then pointed out the sides of the square and announced "The edges of the perimeter have all been sealed off. Electric fencing, border guards, and surveillance systems have all been established there. So you can forsake any hope of escaping through the city gates."

He turned back to the class and went on: "Some of you like young Master Rhodes here may have plans to just avoid playing the game altogether and instead just spend the time hiding out. That would be a foolish idea. You can certainly spend some of your time hiding out, but eventually you will be drawn out of your comfort spots. Because where you hide may turn out to be a danger zone. What is a danger zone? Well, that's where those necklaces you are wearing come in to play."

At those words, every single student in the class brought their hands up to their necks, even those that had yet to notice the necklaces did so. Blaine himself was nervously pressing his palms against his necklace, as it suddenly felt a lot more dangerous to him.

Furutani smiled and went on "Your necklaces monitor your pulse and they've all been fitted with a tracking device that tells us your exact location. They are also waterproof, shockproof, fireproof, and cannot be safely removed by the wearer without a specific set of tools. That's not even the best part; the best part is that each of the collars is rigged with enough explosive to set off an avalanche! If you are caught in a danger zone at any time, or if you try removing your collar, your necklace will detonate! I'm certain you can guess what will happen. Truthfully, I'm not entirely certain. Sometimes the skin around the throat is blown off and sometimes the head is blown to pieces. Most likely, your head will be severed from your vertebrae."

Several people shuddered at how calmly Furutani explained the collars' capabilities to them. Everyone quickly withdrew their hands from their necks.

"Getting back to the danger zones…" stated Furutani, "I will be making announcements four times a day, at 6:00 and 12:00 A.M. and P.M. Every two hours starting at 0700 hours, a random area on the map will become a danger zone. Keep up with the announcements so that you can note down the specified zones at which times. I will also list off those who died in the previous six hours at each announcement to help you keep track of who's still out there. Some of you may be contemplating the idea of coming back to the school and wreaking havoc on it. I should warn you that such actions would be unwise. Not only because you would be outnumbered and outgunned, but also because ten minutes after the last student leaves, C-5 becomes a permanent danger zone. It will remain a danger zone until a winner has been determined."

This was all a great deal to take in all at once. But for their own sakes, the entire class was able to retain everything Furutani told them.

"One last thing," Furutani added in, "If twenty-four whole hours go by without a single death, all the necklaces will automatically detonate. No one will win the game. And no one wants that now, right?"

Naturally, no one physically responded. Most of them were just concerned with making plans to stay alive.

Furutani scratched his head as if he was thinking. Then he stepped forward and announced "Well, I guess that's everything… except for the 'new rule.'"

This snapped everyone back to attention. New rule? What new rule?

Furutani noted their inquisitiveness and smirked. He stated "I can see you are all curious to know about this new rule. I'm certain you will find it to be beneficial on your part. You see, it has to do with your young American friend… Master Blaine Rhodes."

Blaine was surprised to hear this. Up until this point, he had just been sitting in his chair, listening like everyone else. But now there was a new rule that made him the center of attention. What could it possibly be?

"As I said before, the main rule of a Battle Royale is that only one winner can be alive in the end," Furutani remarked, "That still stands. But because of the inclusion of an American this year, the officials who run the Program got together and came up with a generous new policy."

There was a brief pause. Then Furutani went on: "Do you want to know what it is? If you do, listen to me very closely."

Everyone collectively leaned forward and kept their ears open. Furutani then told them "The new rule is this: There may actually be **two **winners this year. The traditional winner would be whoever the last one standing is. The other winner will not have to wait until the game ends. Because the other winner… is whoever kills Master Rhodes."

Blaine felt like throwing up right there. He did not turn around, but he was certain that all of his classmates' eyes were focused on him. He really wished he could just disappear into thin air at that time; the situation was getting worse and worse. Now it seemed downright hopeless for him.

Furutani smiled in complete wickedness and rested one of his hands on Blaine's desk. He spoke to him in that same amused tone: "Your late teacher Nami Kawano was right about one thing, Master Rhodes. Originally, you were not supposed to be part of this Program. There is a reason the exchange program was set up the way it was: so that all the American scholars studying abroad in Japan would be back home before graduation. That way, any possibility of them getting involved in the Program would be put aside. But your class had already been selected when your request to remain until graduation came through. So I got together with the rest of the officials and we decided to up the stakes. I mean, didn't you stop to think about why your request to remain was approved so quickly?"

"As a matter of fact… I did," Blaine muttered through gritted teeth, "I knew this country was ruled under a totalitarian regime, but I didn't know it had anything as barbaric as **this**."

Furutani just remained smiling and stood up straight.

Out of nowhere, someone shouted in madness. Everyone turned their attention towards the source of the noise. It was Kazuki Chikuda. He had jumped out of his desk and he was now running down the aisle. A few people noticed he was running… directly for Blaine! His arms were outstretched as if he meant to use them to seize Blaine by the throat.

Immediately, Furutani stepped between Kazuki and Blaine and pulled out his Walther PPK. He pulled back the hammer and aimed it at Kazuki's head. Just before reaching Blaine, Kazuki stopped in his tracks, his attention now focused on the gun in front of him.

"You are Kazuki Chikuda, I presume?" he said.

The class loner slowly nodded his head, shaking in his stance.

Furutani smiled and said "You were wise to stop, Master Chikuda. It is rare that an entire class makes it out into the Program without the instructor having to kill one or more of them off. Let's keep the class whole for now. Is that understood? Good. Now, I'd like you to explain your actions."

Kazuki was twitching violently. He could barely even stand still as he turned his eyes towards Blaine. He told Furutani "W-well, s-sir, it's just that… you… you said… whoever kills Blaine… is automatically excused… from the rest of the Program."

Furutani slowly nodded and remarked "Indeed, I did just say that. I admire your eagerness to play the game, Master Chikuda. But I must remind you that the game has not even started yet. It is illegal for you or any of your classmates to kill each other before the game begins."

"Oh, al-alright then," Kazuki said, nodding in understanding as he slowly returned to his desk. Once he sat down, he asked "In that case, when does the game begin?"

"I was just getting to that," Furutani replied as he returned his gun to his belt, "You will all leave the school one at a time in two-minute intervals. I will call your names out in order of your class number, as this is the order in which you shall all leave. As soon as the first student has left the building… the game begins."

"The last thing I need to discuss is what the winner receives," he went on, "In addition to a signed certificate from our beloved leader, the winner receives enough prize money to have him or her set for life. That applies to both winners; the last one standing and Master Rhodes'… executioner. However, if it should turn out that the last two people standing are Master Rhodes and another person… then whoever emerges victorious will receive double the normal amount of prize money. One winner; double the fee. Take **that** into consideration, if you would."

Furutani looked around the room. He was no longer facing a room of frightened children. He was facing a room of tense young adults. They had all been friends just hours earlier. Now under a special set of circumstances, the strength of their friendships would be tested.

Furutani took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "Now then, everything has been properly addressed. Are there any questions?"

No one raised their hands. Evidently, Furutani had answered them all already.

"Now then," he said as he picked up the file on the desk and opened it up, "It is time to get started. I will call out your names in your class order. I would advise against lingering in the hallway; there is a guard at the front entrance that informs us when each student has left the building. If it takes a student longer than thirty seconds to reach the entrance after leaving this room, the guard has orders to take that student out. Is that clear?"

Without even waiting for a response, Furutani continued: "Now then, onto the roll call. Because he has no class number, and because of the… bounty I put on him, I believe it is only fair that the first person to leave the school be our guest… Rhodes Blaine-kun!"

Blaine felt all the attention on himself yet again. As soon as he stepped through that door, the Program would start. But if he stayed behind, he would be signing his own death warrant anyway.

Blaine pushed his chair back and rose to his feet. He reached down, picked up his backpack off the ground, and slung it over his shoulders.

One of the soldiers at the Bellman cart had picked the bag with no stitched number off the top. As Blaine approached the door, the soldier tossed him the bag. He caught it swiftly in both his arms. Another soldier opened up the door and gestured for him to go out.

Just before leaving, Blaine turned to get a good look at Class 3-A. This would be the last time he would see all forty-four of them in the same place. He spent a long moment concentrating on Tatsuo and Kiyomi. His best friend just gave him a thumbs-up and his girlfriend mouthed the words "I love you."

Blaine returned the thumbs-up to Tatuso and mouthed "I love you, too" back to Kiyomi. Then he turned around and stepped out into the hallway.

**The Game Begins**

**Day 1 – 00:45 Hours**

**45 Students Remaining**

**Note: Well, what do you think? I'd like to know your thoughts on this chapter, particularly on the "new rule" I put in. Do you like it? Do you like the chapter in general? I'd like to know your take on what I have so far.**


	5. Into The Fire

The classroom door was connected to a long corridor. There were a few more soldiers standing guard just outside of it. As soon as he was out, Blaine looked to the left and then he looked to the right. The corridor seemed to go on for a long way in either direction.

Blaine was about to step to the left when one of the soldiers blocked his path. The soldier pointed in the other direction. Blaine nodded in acknowledgement, turned around, and walked at a quick pace down the hall.

He thought about checking his bag as he walked. Then he decided that it might be better to wait until he was clear of the school. Then he would be out of harm's way. At the very least he would be out of it temporarily.

As he walked Blaine began formulating a plan. Furutani had continually emphasized that escape would be impossible, but Blaine was not about to give up on his friends. The first idea that came to his head was that he could try to get as many people as possible to join up with him. That sounded like the most logical course of action; the approach that advocated strength in numbers.

Of course, Blaine had to be very selective about who he allied himself with. Who did he know in Class 3-A that he could actually trust with his life? Naturally, he was compelled to trust Kiyomi and Tatsuo entirely. But other than those two, who else was there?

Blaine did not know Asayo very well, but she had been Kiyomi's best friend for years before Blaine had come to Japan. If Kiyomi could trust her, then Blaine figured he could as well.

Maybe Chieko could be trusted. As the Class Vice-President, she had always been there to lend a hand to anyone who needed it.

Genji… Blaine was absolutely certain he could trust Genji. The Class President had gone out of his way to assist his fellow classmates in any problems they had. Blaine was certain that Genji would not let the class down in the Program.

But other than those three, who else did he really know all that well? Kazuki Chikuda had already tried to strangle Blaine with his bare hands before the game had even started. If the quiet, distanced Kazuki had tried to kill Blaine, anyone in the class might take a shot at him, too!

Blaine forced himself to push these thoughts out of his mind for the moment. Presently, he still had yet to get to the front entrance of the school.

As he approached the end of the corridor, he saw a faint brightness emanating from around the corner. He turned into another, shorter corridor. It only went on for about twenty feet. There was a set of open double doors; the source of the brightness turned out to be the moonlight peaking in through the doors.

There was a solitary soldier standing guard at the doors. He was standing just outside the doorframe. When he heard Blaine approaching, he looked over his shoulder and gestured for him to hurry.

Just as Blaine stepped outside, the soldier placed his hand on his shoulder. He did not seize him using tremendous force; in fact, he was rather gentle with him.

Blaine turned to the soldier as if to ask him what he was doing. But before he got a chance, the soldier just reached into his pocket and pulled out an unsealed envelope. He held it out to Blaine, mouthing the words "Take it."

Blaine tentatively looked back and forth from the soldier to the envelope. Then he slowly took it the envelope in his right hand. There was a sentence on the front of the envelope written in English. It said "For your eyes only."

Blaine looked up and was about to ask the soldier "What is this?" Before he could, the soldier waved his arm towards the direction of the street, urging Blaine to move on.

Even though he was confused, Blaine simply nodded and slid the envelope into the pocket of his school uniform jacket. Then he walked off the front step and made his way to the edge of the sidewalk. Behind him, the soldier said into a walkie-talkie "He's out. Send the next student."

Blaine recalled that Furutani had told them that the class would be dismissed at two-minute intervals. He hoped that the time he spent in the hallway did not count as part of the two minutes. He needed as much time as possible to make a plan before the whole of the class was loose on the streets.

Blaine looked both ways down the street. Of course he was not looking to make certain that no one was coming, as the entire town had been evacuated. Instead, he was contemplating which way he should go.

He had never been in the Saitama Prefecture before, even though it was literally right next to the Kanagawa Prefecture. But then again, he had not seen that much of the Kanagawa Prefecture either. So regardless of wherever he currently was, he would still have the same problem: he did not know the layout of the town. He was surrounded by tall buildings and corporations everywhere he looked.

He decided to go to the left. The block opposite the school ended just a few meters further in that direction. There was also a tall building which came to an end with the block just a short distance away from the school's main entrance. Blaine was certain he could hide around that corner and be able to watch undetected as his fellow classmates left the school.

He quickly made his way across the street and walked down to the end of the block, and turned around the corner. Once he was there, he sighed in frustration and leaned against the wall, allowing himself to slide to the ground in a sitting position. He placed his supply pack off to his side. For the briefest of moments, he felt isolated from the rest of humanity. He had not felt this lonely since the first day he arrived in Japan. Like that first day, he was facing a great fear of the unknown. The only difference was that he knew the people he would encounter. At least he hoped he knew them well enough. That way, he could distinguish between who could join up with and who he should avoid.

As he thought over all of his fellow classmates, the two people he was certain he could trust were Tatsuo and Kiyomi. Less than a month after arriving in Japan, he had learned his classmates' numbers. In fact, learning their numbers had helped him learn their names. He ran through the class list in his mind as he sat in silence.

Daisuke Araki would be the first person to leave the school after him. After another two minutes, Namiko Abe would be the first girl to leave. But then Tatsuo would leave the school right after Namiko.

Blaine felt a quantum of solace knowing that he would only have to wait about six minutes for Tatsuo to leave the building. But his relief was short-lived; what if Daisuke or Namiko received a lethal weapon and decided to stay behind at the entrance of the school to try to eliminate some competition?

He considered Daisuke a good friend; he was always standing up for his best friend Naozumi Matsuno, who was consistently picked on by Osamu Sano's gang for being so nice to everybody.

Namiko, on the other hand, was a person of questionable character. She and her best friend Rumi Hakugi were two of the more rebellious students in the class; they could be very manipulative and devious at times.

Blaine would just have to wait and see. Maybe the two of them would just run off into the city without checking their supply packs for weapons.

It was then that Blaine realized he had yet to discover what his own weapon was, as he had not yet opened his supply pack. He turned to his supply pack, took it by its straps, and set it on his lap. He saw that the supply pack was sealed up by a long zipper. Blaine used the pull tab on the slider to bring the slider down the zipper from one side to the other. Then he pulled back the flaps to get a good look inside.

There was some bottled water, some bread, a map, a compass, a flashlight, and a watch. But what really drew Blaine's attention was what was lying in the center of the bag.

He had been given a type of shotgun. He recognized it as a Remington Model 870. He was able to identify it because this was the type of shotgun utilized by American Marines; his father had once been issued a similar model when he served in Africa.

Blaine slowly brought his hand around the shotgun's handle and pulled it out of his supply pack. He pointed it in the air and got a good look at it. It was about thirty-seven and a-quarter inches long, which was about as short as the Remington models came. The barrels of the shotgun were about eighteen inches long and they were positioned one on top of the other. The rest of the gun was composed of its chamber.

Inside his supply pack, Blaine found a box of shotgun shells. They were the standard 3-inch 12 gauge shells. He had handled these once before at a summer camp during the riflery tournament. He was now glad he had taken the competition seriously, as his skills with a shotgun just might benefit him after all!

Blaine opened one of the ammunitions cases and removed several of the shotgun shells. He inserted them into the detachable magazine and then loaded them into the port located along the barrels. Once they were in place, he used the bolt to lock the shells into the barrels.

There was a long strap that was attached by the ends to the shotgun's bottom barrel and the shotgun's buttstock. Blaine took the strap and ducked his head and left arm underneath it. Now he was properly armed. Blaine zipped up his supply pack and threw it over his left shoulder.

He slowly got back to his feet and took a hold of the shotgun. He placed his left hand on the grip cap, which was located just under the buttstock, along the back of the gun. He placed his right hand on the action, located on the forearm under the bottom barrel. The Remington was a pump-action shotgun, so he would have to slide the action across its bar in order to eject each shell casing and reload the barrels.

He kept the top tang safety on and he did not pull back the external hammer just yet. As long as he kept them in their current state, he could not fire the shotgun. He did not want to have to fire it unless absolutely necessary. Nevertheless, he had to be prepared for anything.

Blaine stood against the wall of the building and turned his head just enough so he could peak around the corner. He could clearly see Daisuke Araki (Boy #1) leaving the building. However, the soldier did not give Daisuke any envelope; he had just said into his walkie-talkie "Sent out the next one."

Daisuke was standing along the sidewalk, contemplating which way to go. Blaine noticed that Daisuke had a bit of difficulty with his supply pack, as if it was particularly heavy. Maybe his weapon was a bowling ball!

Blaine never did find out what Daisuke's weapon was, as Daisuke ended up running on the path to the right of the school entrance; he had chosen to run in the opposite direction relative to Blaine.

Blaine silently hoped that Daisuke would be alright on his own. He cared a great deal for most of his classmates, as he was on good terms with most of them. He hoped that most of them would not crack anytime soon.

Of course, his classmates probably knew about the Program far better than he did. He had only been given a brief overview of it; his classmates had probably known about it since they were old enough to comprehend the scope of its repercussions. While Blaine was afraid, he could only imagine how scared his friends and classmates were.

It was then that something else occurred to Blaine: what if Tatsuo or Kiyomi broke down? After all, Kazuki Chikuda was already on the verge of losing his mind. Even though Kazuki had always been a loner, Blaine had never even seen him harm so much as a fly. He would have never expected Kazuki to be willing to play along with the Program so quickly.

Blaine decided to put such thoughts out of his mind; all he could do was hope that his best friend and his girlfriend would keep their minds. He truly could not blame them if they lost their hope; after all, this was a killing game!

Blaine looked around the corner once more and saw Namiko Abe (Girl #1) coming out of the school. Almost as soon as she was out, she ran in the same direction as Daisuke. The soldier then said into his walkie-talkie "Send out the next one."

Blaine wondered why Namiko had not hesitated to go left.

Then he remembered; when he had stepped out of the classroom, he had turned to his right to run down the hallway. By the time he had gotten to the front entrance, he was walking in the exact opposite direction as when he walked out the classroom door. So when he went to the left when he got outside into the street, he was running further away from the classroom.

Daisuke, on the other hand, had gone to the right in the street. He must have run right past the classroom's windows. Anyone looking through the windows must have noticed him.

Maybe Namiko was going after him; perhaps she really was going to play the game.

"Fuck," Blaine muttered under his breath when this thought occurred to him.

On the other hand, it could be possible that Namiko was simply more decisive than Blaine or Daisuke had been. It could be possible she was just eager to find a hiding spot.

Blaine prayed that Tatsuo would not run in the same direction as Daisuke and Namiko. He had seen Tatsuo run; he was among the fastest runners in the class. Blaine could run at a fairly fast pace as well, but he knew from experience that he could not outrun Tatsuo.

Another minute later, Tatsuo Inoue ran out into the street. He looked to his right and then to his left. After a moment of contemplation, he made his decision. To Blaine's vast relief, he was running to the left of the school entrance!

Blaine waited until Tatsuo reached the end of the block; then he would be out of the guard's field of vision. Once Tatsuo was under the streetlight, Blaine stepped out of his hiding place and called out "Tatsuo! Over here!"

Tatsuo jerked his entire body around and saw Blaine standing about thirty feet away. The first thing he saw was the shotgun slung across Blaine's shoulders. Seeing the weapon made him panic. He backed into the wall and held his hands in the air. He shouted "Blaine, please, don't do it! I beg of you!"

Blaine was initially confused. Then he noticed that Tatsuo was not looking him in the eye; he was staring at his chest. Blaine looked down and saw the reason for his best friend's reaction. He inwardly cursed his negligence; he should have known better than to approach Tatsuo with his weapon in full sight.

Blaine spoke softly "Just wait there a moment," and he slowly took the top strap of his shotgun and ducked his arm and head under it again. He let the shotgun drop to the ground. Then he kicked it in Tatsuo's direction. It was now Tatsuo's turn to be confused. He slowly lowered his arms and looked back and forth from the shotgun to Blaine.

"If you can't trust me with a gun, I understand," Blaine told him calmly, "I was just wondering if you wanted to work together. Maybe we can find a way out of this. I still haven't given up hope, even if everyone else already has. But if you don't want to be anywhere near me, I understand."

The two boys stood in complete silence, staring each other in the eye. Then Tatsuo bent over and picked up the shotgun.

For the briefest of moments, Blaine feared that he would be the first person eliminated from the game. Taken out by his best friend, no less. The irony of it all!

But then his fears proved unfounded, as Tatsuo slowly walked over to him and held the shotgun out to him. Blaine gazed down at the Remington, and then at Tatsuo. This time, however, Tatsuo was smiling. There was a tear of joy in his eye.

A smile quickly crept across Blaine's face. He threw his arms around Tatsuo and hugged him as a best friend. Tatsuo happily returned the hug, still keeping his grip on the shotgun. For that moment, it was just the two of them in solitude; nothing else mattered to them. They found the two things that were hardest to find in the Program – hope and trust.

When they came apart, Tatsuo wiped the corner of his eye and said "How could I have ever doubted you?"

"Oh, don't say that," Blaine replied cheekily, "I was actually having the same thoughts a moment ago. At least we can trust each other."

"Indeed we can," Tatsuo agreed, "I was actually hoping to run in to you. That's why I went left when I exited the school. I saw both Daisuke and Namiko run by the classroom windows, but you didn't. So I suspected you went this way."

Blaine smiled at Tatsuo and said "I'm glad you came this way, too. If you hadn't, I would have had to run after you. Catching you would have been a bitch."

Tatsuo wholeheartedly laughed in amusement as he handed Blaine his shotgun, saying "That's a nice make you got there."

"Thanks," Blaine smirked, "It's a Remington Model 870. Remember how I told you that my father is a Marine? Well, he was once issued a similar model when he served a tour in Africa."

"Awesome," commented Tatsuo. He gazed down at his supply pack and stated "I suppose I may as well check what I have, now that I'm out here."

As Blaine ducked his head and right arm back under the shotgun, Tatsuo held onto his supply pack and opened the zipper. Inside were all the same provisions Blaine had found in his. Only there was no shotgun. But in Tatsuo's eyes, what he got was even better.

He had been given a Pistole Parabellum 1908, more commonly known as a Luger P08 Pistol. Blaine had seen pictures of them in his father's scrapbook. The Luger Tatsuo had received was a little different from the standard model. The barrel was longer, the iron sight ran along the top of the chamber, and the handle was padded with a thick rubbery material. The pistol even came with its own holster. That was what really delighted Tatsuo. He picked the Luger up and remarked "I don't know about you, but I don't think I could ask for a better weapon that **this**."

"It's a Luger Pistol," Blaine enlightened him, "However, my father told me about that particular model once. What you have is a Persian Long Luger mod1314. Those are very hard to come by. It's a wonder even the Japanese government managed to acquire one."

"Well, I'm just glad it has its own holster," Tatsuo remarked, "It'll feel more like a western than the Program now."

Blaine just shook his head and smiled in mild amusement. He had seen a multitude of American films with Tatsuo over the past nine months, and Tatsuo seemed to develop a practical taste in westerns. He always liked standing in front of a mirror and saying "Draw!" while pretending to draw a pistol from an imaginary holster and then "shooting" the mirror.

"Well, you can put it on while we wait," Blaine decided.

That attracted Tatsuo's attention. He looked up at Blaine and asked him "What do you mean by 'wait?'"

"I've already got a little plan going," Blaine explained as he watched the school entrance from around the corner, "Step one, meet up with you. Step two, meet up with the others we can trust. Step three… I haven't really gotten that far yet. Better to just concentrate on step two. Oh, looks like Kaminari's coming out."

Sure enough, Kaminari Ishida (Girl #2) was coming out through the front entrance. After a moment of gazing in either direction, she made her way to the left of the street. Blaine decided against calling out to her. She was a member of Osamu Sano's gang, after all. While Osamu and his friends were not violent by nature, they had a very dark reputation.

Blaine placed his arm against Tatsuo's chest and whispered to him "Get back against the wall. She's coming this way."

The two of them stood against the concrete building and waited for Kaminari to go by. To their relief, she went right past them, running further down the street until she disappeared from their sight.

"Looks like she didn't notice us," Tatsuo remarked.

"Who's next? Kenzou?" stated Blaine.

"Yeah, he's always been right after me," Tatsuo replied, "I would know because he and I went to the same elementary school."

"Do you think we can trust him?" inquired Blaine, "He's been my gym partner for the past nine months, but all I know about him is that he is very watchful… and strong."

"I'd advise against waiting for him," Tatsuo answered, "In fact, I'd advise against remaining here for any longer."

"Why?" asked Blaine

Tatsuo placed his Luger back into his supply pack, zipped it up, and placed his hand against Blaine's arm. He told him solemnly "Blaine, I know you didn't turn around when Furutani presented us with that 'new rule.' But I did. I looked around the room and saw that a lot of people were gazing at you suspiciously, as if they had plans to take advantage of the new rule. I have a very bad feeling that Kazuki isn't the only one that will be after you."

"So, what's your point?" asked Blaine.

"My point is this: we have to get you somewhere safe; somewhere where nobody can harm you," Tatsuo replied, "We were just lucky Kaminari didn't notice us. Kenzou would never overlook such a thing. And if he's playing, we're done for."

"But we are well-armed," Blaine pointed out, holding up his shotgun and gesturing to Tatsuo's bag, "I think this would be enough to last us against any one threat for the moment."

"That is true," Tatsuo agreed, "But do you think you could really bring yourself to kill any of our classmates?"

Blaine was expecting that question. But he was not prepared to answer it. He was frustrated that he had not taken the time to ponder over that concept. Even though he had a loaded Remington Model 870 in his arms, could he actually force himself to use it against his classmates? He was certain that some of them would not hesitate to attack him, but that still did not alter his stance on killing.

"You may have a point," Blaine replied, "But what about the others? What about Kiyomi? Can't we at least wait for her?"

"I understand your concern," Tatsuo stated, "But that wouldn't be a good idea. She'll be the twenty-fifth person to leave the school. We'd have to wait for nineteen more people to leave before she comes out."

"But we can't just leave her by herself!" Blaine argued.

"I don't think she'll be by herself," Tatsuo told him, "Chieko will be the twenty-third person to leave the school; just two before Kiyomi. The only person between them is Jakobe. You and I both know that Jakobe is a very dedicated Buddhist; he wouldn't kill a worm. That being said, Chieko might wait for Kiyomi to leave the school and join up with her."

Blaine thought about this for a few moments. Then he sighed and agreed "If you say so, Tats."

"I'm just looking out for you, Blaine," Tatsuo assured him, speaking in a fierce yet friendly manner, "No one fucks with Americans, right? My people should know that better than the inhabitants of any other country. I mean, we brought about Pearl Harbor; you retaliated with Hiroshima and Nagasaki."

Blaine had grown to admire Tatsuo's dark sense of humor. Even in the middle of the Program, it made him laugh. He laughed right there as he stood in the shadows with his best friend.

Once he was done laughing, Tatsuo turned down the street perpendicular to the street running along the school interest and informed his friend "Speaking of bombings, I think I know of a good hiding place. Every town in the Saitama Prefecture has a bomb shelter near the City Hall. If we can just find that building, we might be able to stake out there for a while."

"Sounds like a good plan to me," Blaine commented. He gestured down the road and told his friend "Lead the way."

Tatsuo started running down the street. But only at a mild pace. As Blaine had stated earlier, he was a very fast runner. If he ran at full speed, Blaine would not have been able to keep up with him.

As they ran, Blaine looked back at the school and whispered "Stay safe, Kiyomi. I will find you."

…

An hour and a-half after Blaine had left the school, Sayeko Watanabe (Girl #22) was called out by Furutani. She was visibly nervous about being the last person to leave the school. Proceeding with as much caution as possible, she slid her inhaler inside her front pocket, picked up her backpack, stood up out of her desk, walked to the front of the classroom, received her bag from the soldier at the cart, and walked out into the hallway.

She soon arrived at the front entrance, encountering the soldier who was standing guard. Once Sayeko was out into the street, the soldier said into his walkie-talkie "She's out."

Sayeko could hear Furutani say over the line "Good. Get back inside and lock the front entrance. This place goes danger zone in ten minutes starting… now."

The soldier replied "Roger that, sir." Then he turned to the school's entrance, stepped through the doorframe, and shut the door behind him. Sayeko heard a faint "click" as the soldier locked the door.

Now she was alone. She looked in both directions, but saw no one. No one was running through the streets, no one was prowling in the dark, and best of all, there were no bodies in sight.

Sayeko just muttered under her breath "Stay calm. Don't freak out. You'll be alright."

Then she ran to the left down the street.

All forty-five students in Class 3-A of Keio Shonan-Fujisawa Junior High School were out on the streets of this city in the Saitama Prefecture. Some were already making plans to win, some had plans to hide. But most of them just had plans to survive.

It would not be long before the first killing.

…

Kiyomi Takayama was walking slowly through the city streets. She had been walking for over an hour, but she could not find her way. Two blocks back, she had taken her map out and tried using it to find her location. As it turned out, she was near square G-8, located several miles from the high school.

In her right hand, she held a meat cleaver. That had been her designated weapon. She clutched it tightly, as if she had a death grip on the handle.

Fortunately for her, she had not encountered anyone just yet. The street outside the school was deserted when she first stepped outside. She did not stay around long enough to investigate the area, however. She realized that Kazuki Chikuda would leave the school right after her. She remembered that Kazuki had tried to kill her boyfriend before the game had even started. She did not want to risk suffering that fate any more than Blaine!

She had run a few blocks before stopping. Then she felt like she would break down in tears. She was deadly afraid. Not just for herself, but also for Blaine. He had been the first to leave the school, but would he be alright? Maybe he was looking for her… or hiding. She just hoped that whatever he was doing, he was not putting himself in danger.

A thought occurred to Kiyomi… maybe Blaine was with Tatsuo! After all, they spent so much time hanging out together that they were almost like brothers. Kiyomi and Tatsuo had been good friends for years before Blaine had come to Japan; she felt she could trust him to do right by Blaine.

With any luck, she might even be able to meet up with them. If they were even together, that is. Kiyomi was primarily focused on staying out of sight and avoiding any unpleasant encounters.

After walking for another five minutes, Kiyomi stopped to rest. She leaned against a lamppost and gazed up at the stop sign on the street. The street's nameplates had been removed from the stop sign. Kiyomi reasoned out that the government must have removed all the street signs in order to keep the Program's location anonymous. Kiyomi looked at her map and noticed that none of the streets had names on it either. She sighed and stuffed the map back into her supply pack.

As she rested against the lamppost, Kiyomi stood contemplating her options. She knew very well she could just hide out and wait until her hiding spot became a danger zone. Or she could continue looking around the city, trying to find Blaine and her other close friends.

Before she had the opportunity to decide, she heard a voice behind her say "K-Kiyomi?"

This startled her greatly. She turned around swiftly, brandishing her meat cleaver in case of any threat.

After a moment, she calmed down. She expected to find someone swinging an axe at her or something of the sort, like a nightmare come to life. Instead, she was now standing face-to-face with Ichiko Murakami (Girl #20). At first, she smiled at seeing a friendly face. Ichiko was smiling, too.

Kiyomi felt a modicum of relief. She knew Ichiko very well as a friend and a classmate. She and Eiko Hirakawa had founded a charity group at school to help benefit less fortunate children across the country. Ichiko was one of the more kind people in the school. At that moment, Kiyomi was happy to have run in to her.

"Ichiko, thank God!" Kiyomi remarked, "I've been so afraid, wandering around this city all on my own. I can't tell you how glad I am to see you."

Ichiko just nodded her head slowly and said calmly "I know. I'm… very glad to see you, too. So very glad…"

Kiyomi found it peculiar how Ichiko had said those words in such a levelheaded manner. At first she reasoned out that maybe Ichiko was just better at managing her stress and worry than she appeared.

However, Kiyomi's smile quickly faded when she noticed something else. Ichiko's pupils were totally dilated, almost as if her eyelids were being fastened at the top of her eyeballs by invisible tape. The combination of staring eyes and an extensive smile could only mean one of two things: Either Ichiko was on a sugar or caffeine rush, or her mind was on the brink of insanity.

Kiyomi was heavily inclined to believe the latter theory when she noticed something more. Ichiko was carrying a Schmidt M1882 Service Pistol in her right hand. Her right forearm was bent upward; she held it perpendicular to the rest of her body.

In other words, she was pointing her gun directly at Kiyomi's heart!

**45 Students Remaining**


	6. First Blood

Kiyomi stared at Ichiko in complete shock. She could not believe this was happening. Ichiko Murakami had always been tolerant and welcoming to everyone. She let no one feel like a stranger. She had even helped Blaine get accustomed to the country when he first arrived in Japan.

Kiyomi wondered if the girl standing in front of her could actually be the real Ichiko and not a hallucination. Soon enough, she got her answer. After all, Ichiko was breathing heavily, Kiyomi could smell the cheap brand of perfume she always wore, and the moonlight was gleaming off of her revolver.

"Ichiko…" Kiyomi whispered in utter disbelief, "Ichiko, what in God's name are you doing? It's me… it's Kiyomi!"

"I know damn well it is you," Ichiko remarked, continuing to smile that same insane smile, "Maybe winning this game won't be as hard as I thought, if all the competition comes directly to me."

"Ichiko, what are you saying?" Kiyomi yelled, tears starting to form in her eyes, "We're friends, you and I! We've been friends for years!"

"Yes, we have been friends, Kiyomi," Ichiko muttered as her hand started trembling, "But the keywords there are 'have been.' The situation has changed now. I'm… really sorry for this, Kiyomi. But… I have to do it."

"'Have to?'" shouted Kiyomi, "What the hell do you mean you 'have to?' Why do you 'have to?'"

"You wouldn't understand," Ichiko replied, her smile begin to fade. Her change in her facial expression made her look no less insane.

"I wouldn't understand?" yelled Kiyomi in outrage, her eyes welling with angry tears, "Try me!"

"Do you believe every human being is born with his or her own individual purpose, Kiyomi?" queried Ichiko, her gun still pointed at the other girl's heart.

"I… what the fuck does that have to do with anything?" Kiyomi demanded.

"Answer the question!" Ichiko shouted, maintaining her aim with the gun.

Kiyomi looked off to the side for a moment, thinking about how to respond. Then she answered "Well, I… I suppose so."

"I'm glad you do," said Ichiko, smirking momentarily, "Because I believe in it entirely. For example, Miles Standish was born to captain the Mayflower Expedition. George Washington was born to lead the American Revolution and become the first leader of the United States. Akira Kurosawa was born to popularize our country's film industry to the rest of the world. J. Robert Oppenheimer was born to develop the atomic bomb."

She paused for a moment. Then she continued "Shortly after Furutani had me leave the school, I think I was able to determine the reason why I was born. Do you want to know what that is?"

"You'd probably tell me even if I said 'no,'" Kiyomi muttered angrily, "So get to the point."

Ichiko kept her gun focused on Kiyomi and told her "As you already know, I'm an only child. I've got no brothers or sisters. That's to be expected for my genealogy; semi-infertility seems to run in my family line. My father is an only child and my mother is an only child as well. My mother suffered three miscarriages before she finally managed to have me."

"What are you trying to tell me?" Kiyomi inquired, her focus still on the gun.

"I'm getting to that," Ichiko replied, "My point is this: I'm the last person in my family line. If I die without an heir, my family tree ends with me. So you see, **that **is my purpose. I was born so that the Murakami family line would not come to an end. Its continuation rests on my shoulders. I **must **survive. I **must **continue my line. That's why I should win the Program."

"Ichiko, are you even listening to yourself?" yelled Kiyomi, her eyes still blazing with tears, "You make killing sound so simple, like it's just a normal everyday thing."

"It **is** a normal everyday thing," Ichiko pointed out, her hand beginning to shake, "Every day – no, every hour – somewhere on this planet, someone is murdered by another person for any number of reasons. Reasons such as money, revenge, pleasure… they all have the same result. Had our class not been selected from the Program, I probably would have never considered killing anyone. But our class **was** selected, so I have no choice. Now get on your knees, Kiyomi. Let's not make a bigger mess than we have to."

Kiyomi just stared at Ichiko, unable to believe what had just come out of her mouth. She had virtually ordered her to get on her knees and accept death like a dog. Kiyomi was not going to give up that easily. Not until she was certain that Ichiko was too far gone to see reason.

"Ichiko, please," she begged, "There might be a way out of this. I know you're scared; you must be more scared than you've ever been in your life. But the rest of us are scared, too. That's exactly what the Program instructor **wants** to happen. He wants us to forsake our friendships. That's what leads to all the carnage and madness in the first place."

"I'd suggest you just save the lectures and do as I say," Ichiko advised Kiyomi as she raised her gun a little and stepped forward. She spoke through gritted teeth "Now get down on your knees."

Kiyomi was desperate at this point. Every time Ichiko spoke, it seemed that she was drifting further and further away from her conscience. Kiyomi tried one last time to reason with her.

"I know you're not going to do it," Kiyomi told the other girl. However, she was trying more to convince herself than Ichiko that that statement was true, "This isn't in your nature; you're a good person. I know you'd never kill-"

"I see you still need a little convincing," Ichiko interrupted her. At that, she lowered her revolver a little, pulled back the hammer, and squeezed the trigger.

A gunshot echoed around the block as a single bullet was projected from the barrel. It sailed less than a meter through the air before it grazed Kiyomi's thigh.

Kiyomi shrieked in pain and dropped to her knees. She clutched her thigh with her left hand as she felt the blood starting to drip out. The injury was mostly a flesh wound, but it still left Kiyomi in terrible pain.

Ichiko stepped forward and forced Kiyomi to turn around. By this point, Kiyomi was offering little resistance, as most of her attention was diverted towards her wound.

Ichiko smiled and said sarcastically "That's a good girl. Let's not make this any harder than it has to be."

With that, Ichiko pulled back the hammer of her revolver again and positioned the barrel just a couple inches from the back of Kiyomi's head. She then looked up and noticed a camera near the top of the lamppost. She remarked "You may as well smile for the camera. Let the audiences at home know you went out with dignity."

Without even looking over her shoulder, Kiyomi stated weakly "Ichiko… why? Just why can't you give me a chance? All I want is a chance. Just trust me and… maybe we'll find a way out of this."

Ichiko shook her head, even though Kiyomi could not see her make the gesture. Then she replied with "Weren't you paying attention to Furutani? Only one survives the game."

"No, not this time!" Kiyomi retorted, "This time, there's a chance that two of us could survive!"

Ichiko just scoffed and said "Yeah, sure. That only works out if one of us takes out Blaine. Do you honestly expect me to believe that you'd let me kill your boyfriend? Wait… now **there's **an idea. I think I've already got my next target planned out."

There was a short pause. Kiyomi thought about what she had said, and realized she had forgotten the specifics of the new rule. But that did not bother as much as what Ichiko had just implied. Did Ichiko honestly suggest… that she would harm Blaine?

"You know, I actually like the sound of that," Ichiko thought aloud, "After I'm finished with you, I think I'll go look for that sweet boyfriend of yours. With any luck, I'll find him and get out of this game faster than you can say 'Damn the Program.' Yeah, I think I will just do that. Hopefully he'll go down just as easily as you."

Kiyomi felt an unspeakable twist of rage building up inside of her. She took a moment to look at herself; she was kneeling in a submissive position with a gun pointed at her head by one of the most unlikely people to ever play along in the Program. She saw this as pathetic and pitiful in every way. But to hear that this same person had plans to do this to Blaine… that was what set Kiyomi off. **No one **threatened her boyfriend like that. Not even a person holding a gun to her head. She would make Ichiko pay for that.

While Ichiko was ranting, Kiyomi moved in to attack. Ignoring the pain in her side, she jumped to her feet and simultaneously turned around completely. In the midst of her rise and turn, she raised her right fist and swung it at Ichiko's face. She ended up punching Ichiko directly on the chin.

A moment later, Ichiko was shouting in pain. She dropped her revolver and stumbled backwards, holding her face with both hands. While she turned away, Kiyomi took advantage of that moment and picked up the gun. She fumbled it for a moment, but quickly got a grip on it and pointed it at Ichiko.

"Not so tough now, are you?" Kiyomi remarked humorously, "Maybe you were born to humiliate yourself in the Program, instead."

Ichiko did not respond, she was still clutching her face and shrieking in agony. A few moments later, she was not even shrieking; she was full-out screaming in torment.

Kiyomi raised an eyebrow and said "Wow, Ichiko. I didn't know I punched you **that **hard. Either I don't know my own strength, or you really need to toughen up."

She scoffed a little at her joke and smiled in amusement as she watched the other girl shriek.

But when Ichiko turned back around to face her a moment later, Kiyomi's smile faded away. She saw the real reason Ichiko was screaming. There was something metal protruding from her head; it flashed brightly in the moonlight. At first, Kiyomi thought it was her collar. But her collar was still around her neck; the metallic item Kiyomi spotted was located on the left side of Ichiko's face. And Ichiko was trying to… pull it out.

At one point, Kiyomi managed to get a good look at the object, and that was when she fully realized what it was.

When Ichiko shot her in the thigh a minute ago, Kiyomi had only held her side with her left hand. She had still managed to hold her meat cleaver in her right hand. Ichiko had not paid any attention to it, as she was only focused on Kiyomi's head.

In all the turmoil, Kiyomi had forgotten that she was still holding the meat cleaver in her right hand. So when she punched Ichiko on the chin with that same hand, her grip on the handle had slipped.

Now the meat cleaver was wedged in the side of Ichiko's face. It had cut through her skin like a toothpick through a deli sandwich.

Kiyomi did not move a muscle as she watched her friend desperately try to extract the blade from her face, all the while she was writhing in agony. No matter how hard she tried, the blade would not budge; it was lodged in her skull. Ichiko was losing her focus very quickly. Her vision soon started fading and she could barely even stop screaming enough to catch her breath.

About twenty seconds later, Ichiko stopped screaming altogether, stood absolutely still for a few seconds, and then fell backwards, landing flat on her back.

…

A few blocks to the west and one to the north, Blaine Rhodes and Tatsuo Inoue had finally found City Hall. Both boys had their maps out as they came across the long flight of stairs leading up to the building. There were using the light of Tatsuo's flashlight to see where they were going.

"I told you we should have just come straight here instead of surfing through every single block in the area!" Tatsuo remarked, glaring over at Blaine.

Blaine just shrugged and stated cheekily "At least we got some exercise. Staying in shape will keep us one step in front of everyone else."

Tatsuo shook his head in amusement and said "That's true. But as much as I enjoy a brisk jog, I'd prefer to do it in a safer environment. One without my entire class trying to kill me."

"Oh, Tatsuo, don't say that," Blaine told his best friend, "You don't know for certain that everyone else is playing. I'll bet a number of our friends just want to survive. Besides, you've got one advantage I could never have."

"What's that?" Tatsuo inquired.

"You're not me," Blaine replied. Tatsuo laughed in enjoyment; Blaine joined in a moment later. Truth be told, Blaine was only partially joking. He was glad that Tatsuo did not have the same bounty on his head as the one Blaine had on his.

The two boys looked up at City Hall. It was a few dozen steps up to the large doors. Across the street, there was a wide field spanning along the front of the building for a great distance. Blaine did like seeing a little green in this city, but the open field was a liability. Anyone who might have been in the area could see him and Tatsuo go up the stairs and into the building.

"You go on ahead to check the doors and make certain they're unlocked," Blaine instructed Tatsuo as he put his map away and griped his shotgun in both arms, "I'll follow you close behind."

Tatsuo nodded in acknowledgement and said "You got it." He put his own map and flashlight away and started jogging up the stone steps. Blaine started up after him. He walked backwards so that he could keep an eye on the entire area. He knew it would take him a while to reach the top of the stairs in that manner, but he had to be sure.

Everywhere Blaine turned, he aimed his shotgun in the same direction. He could not see any trouble, nor did he expect any. He was hoping that he and Tatsuo would not have to run into any conflict for a while.

As he ascended the steps, Blaine felt a little bit of an adrenaline rush as he gazed around the vicinity. It was almost like being in one of those video games focused on war or survival. Only this time it was for real. There were no cheat codes, no power-ups, and definitely no extra lives. And if he got killed, there sure as hell would be no 'reset' button.

All the same, Blaine had to admit he felt some excitement in his current situation.

By the time he was halfway up the steps, Tatsuo had already reached the top of the stairs. He tested the doorknobs and to his relief, the doors were unlocked.

"It's open!" he quietly called out to Blaine. Blaine turned around and gave him the thumbs up. He called back in an equally quiet voice "Looks like we're clear!"

About a minute later, Blaine reached the top of the stairs. Once he did, Tatsuo opened the door and the two boys slipped inside as quietly as possible.

Once they were in, Tatsuo shut the door.

The two boys were now standing in the vast foyer of City Hall. It covered an area of no less than one thousand square feet. There were plaques and decrees all along the walls, and statues of the city's previous mayors stood tall and proud at evenly space intervals in the room. It was quite an elegant sight.

Blaine slung his shotgun over his shoulder and asked Tatsuo "Where to next?"

"Let's go rest in the mayor's office for now," Tatsuo suggested, "Maybe we'll find the blueprints to this place that can tell us where we might find the bomb shelter. And who knows; maybe we'll find the blueprints to some of the other major buildings in the city. We could learn a thing or two that no one else knows."

Blaine nodded his head and followed his best friend to a door located on the left side of the room. As they walked, Tatsuo happened to look over his shoulder and he noticed the expression across Blaine's face. It suggested that something was on his mind.

"Anything wrong, Blaine?" asked Tatsuo. He quickly added in "Besides the obvious, I mean."

"Don't worry about me, Tats, I'm fine," Blaine assured him, "It's just that… when we were coming up the stairs, I thought I heard a gunshot. It sounded like it originated somewhere southeast of here. You don't think… some people are already playing, do you?"

"I sure hope not," Tatsuo replied as he reached the door, "I'm trying to stay optimistic, even if doing so is foolish. Could you make out any screaming?"

"Not immediately after the gunshot," Blaine recounted, "But just before I reached the top of the stairs, I thought I heard a faint shriek, like someone was writhing in anguish. It sounded like it came from the same place, so maybe it's connected to the gunshot."

"Well, I'd suggest we just avoid going that way for the moment," Tatsuo decided, "I want to avoid any unnecessary confrontations. Now let's get those blueprints."

Blaine silently followed him into the next room. Once Tatsuo closed and locked the door, Blaine tossed his supply pack to the side and sat down against the wall. He took a moment to stretch and yawn as he rubbed his eyes with both hands.

Tatsuo chuckled and asked him "Tired?"

"I guess so," Blaine responded, shrugging, "We've been running around this city for about two hours and it's almost three in the morning."

"Well, it makes sense that you'd be more tired than me," Tatsuo remarked, "After all, I just have to carry around my Luger. You have to tote that shotgun along."

"True," Blaine replied, "I think I'm going to go ahead and get a little rest, if it's alright with you."

"Sure, by all means," Tatsuo told him, "You get some sleep; I'll see if I can find the blueprints while you do."

"You sure you don't want any help?" Blaine asked as he sat up a bit, "I can always sleep later."

"No, no, no, you'll need your rest," Tatsuo insisted, "I took two naps yesterday during study hall and on the bus to conserve my energy for the trip. Even though this isn't exactly the trip, I can still use that surplus energy to make myself useful. So you just relax; I won't mind."

Blaine agreed and took off his backpack. He used it as a pillow and covered the center of his body with his supply pack. He had some other, more comfortable clothes in his backpack, but he decided to just sleep in his uniform, as he was too tired to change.

"If I'm not up by six o'clock, could you wake me up?" he requested.

Tatsuo looked up from the mayor's desk and replied "You bet. Don't want to miss the morning announcement, I presume?"

"Exactly," said Blaine. He closed his eyes and rested his head as Tatsuo continued searching the room.

As he rested, Blaine thought about Kiyomi. She was still out there, probably on her own. He hoped that she was alright. The entire city covered an area of one hundred square miles, meaning it encompassed a perimeter of ten miles on all sides. That was certainly a large area, but it was quite small relative to the rest of the planet.

Blaine reminded himself that Kiyomi was somewhere in this city. That alone made him feel better. He vowed that he would find her; he would not let her die.

He knew full well that Kiyomi was more than capable of looking out for herself. But he swore to himself that as soon as he found her, he would not allow himself to leave her side for as much as a minute. He would protect her the way a man should protect the woman he loves.

_Who knows? _Blaine thought to himself, _Maybe Kiyomi's busy making an alliance of her own right now._

…

Kiyomi Takayama felt an overwhelming urge to vomit. Just a few feet away from her were Ichiko Murakami's remains.

She felt a split second of relief when she saw that Ichiko's foot was still twitching. But that was quickly countered when it occurred to her that the meat cleaver had probably just struck a nerve in Ichiko's brain.

Her mind refused to accept this image; she would not allow herself to believe it. She had never seen a dead body before. At least not in person. Now there was no denying it. Ichiko was gone.

Kiyomi was horrified. There were forty-five students in her class, and out of all of them, **she **was the one that committed the first killing in the Program. When she looked up, she saw the video camera Ichiko had pointed out earlier. To make matters worse, she had killed in front of a live audience! Half of Japan probably knew of what she had done by now.

"Ichiko?" she whispered, slowly approaching the body, "Ichiko? Please… don't do this to me… no. No! NO! You… this can't be happening!"

Kiyomi dropped onto her knees again at Ichiko's side. She tried shaking Ichiko as if doing so would revive her. Of course, the most that happened was that Ichiko's foot continued to twitch. Other than that, all signs of life had vanished from her body.

The Murakami clan's line had come to an end after all.

Kiyomi just kneeled there and wept. She wept for Ichiko, she wept for her friends, and she wept for herself. No one deserved to die like this. Why did the government have to pass the Millennium Educational Reform Act? How could any government be so cruel to the children of its country?

It was then that Kiyomi felt her emotions turn around. She went from being distraught and miserable to being angry and vengeful. She was not going to let this happen to another of her classmates, nor was she going to play along with this disgusting game. She would not break down this easily; she was stronger than that. Above all, she would not give the government the satisfaction.

Kiyomi looked back up at the camera on the lamppost. She glared at it and spoke grimly "Hope you enjoy yourselves, you depraved lowlifes."

After another pause, she sighed and looked down at Ichiko's body. She used her thumbs to shut her late friend's eyelids for closure. She muttered in a quiet voice "I'm sorry. If I survive this… I'll do whatever I can to make it up to your family."

Kiyomi then looked down at the pistol in her hand. Had she known anything about firearms, she would have known that the weapon she was carrying was a Schmidt M1882 originally manufactured in Switzerland. The Japanese government had bought imported a shipment of them from the Swiss army several years earlier.

It may have looked and acted like an old-fashioned revolver, but it was still a better weapon than a meat cleaver. Kiyomi decided to take the gun with her.

She considered retrieving her meat cleaver as well, but ultimately decided against it. She felt she had no right to do anything to Ichiko's body; it was the least she could do to show some respect for the dead. Aside from that, Kiyomi feared that removing the cleaver would cause Ichiko's face to split open completely. She did not want to do any more damage than she had already done.

So she left the cleaver. But she took Ichiko's supply pack along with hers. The supply pack contained several extra cases of ammunition, as well as an instruction guide on how to load and use the revolver.

She slung Ichiko's supply pack over her shoulder and started making her way down the street, heading in the west direction. She kept holding her side with her left hand. Even though it was only a flesh wound, she knew full well she would have to clean it up and bandage it in order to avoid an infection. However, that would have to wait until she had gotten to a safe location. After all, someone might have heard the gunshot or Ichiko's screaming; so Kiyomi had to leave before anyone else arrived in the area.

She paused only once to look back at Ichiko's body one last time. Her body was spread out, clearly visible under the light of the lamppost.

Kiyomi felt a single tear fall from her eyelid, roll down her cheek, and slide off her face. That was all the mourning she had time for. She would be able to properly mourn for Ichiko later.

Kiyomi turned back around and walked on.

**Girl #20 Ichiko Murakami – Dead**

**44 Students Remaining**


	7. Isolated Companies

**Note: I'd like to thank ba35 for giving this fanfic its first review. I understand your position that the characters' dialogue may seem a little too formal at times. This is simply my writing style; I like give the dialogue in my fanfics a Shakespearean-type drama tone, sort of like the 2005 movie "Brick." However, if you prefer, I can ease down on that and have some of that characters talk in a more contemporary manner if you feel it would make them seem more realistic.**

**If you're thinking about reviewing, go ahead and do it! I'd appreciate the feedback!**

**Now, on to the next chapter!**

Yuuga Suzuki (Boy #11) was a very practical person. While he was outgoing and friendly, he always preferred having some solitude every day. This was one thing he would not be permitted while in the Program. He knew full well that the city he and his classmates were in encompassed a total area of one hundred square miles, but there were cameras installed on every single block. Given how the Program was Japan's most popular game show, Yuuga had a feeling that at least a quarter of the country was watching his every move.

Then again, he was not entirely certain how the soldiers decided which camera's footage would be broadcasted live. Maybe each camera was all random, or carefully selected. Regardless of that, Yuuga did not really care if people were watching him at home. All he cared about was staying away from his classmates.

At this moment, Yuuga was walking down a long street that intersected the main street a few blocks back. The street lights along the sidewalks were very dimly lit for whatever reason, so seeing clearly proved to be a bit of a problem. Yuuga squinted his eyes as hard as he could, and with some difficulty, he eventually managed to make out a large building about five blocks down the road. His night vision had come through for him.

Yuuga knew full well he could just pull out his flashlight and use it to light up his path, but such a bright light would easily be spotted by an ambitious player. So Yuuga decided against using his flashlight, lest he draw unwanted attention to himself.

And even if Yuuga did end up drawing attention to himself, he was not certain how he would respond to it. It would depend on who he encountered and what their intentions were.

He looked down at the Beretta 98 in his hand. He had loaded it shortly after he left the school. He was ready and willing to use it if he needed to. So far, he had not encountered anyone. However, he knew an encounter with at least one of his classmates would be inevitable.

Fortunately for him, Yuuga had one advantage over the rest of his class: he could predict a person's behavior. Regardless of who he encountered, all Yuuga literally had to do was **look** at someone and he could tell what emotions that person was feeling, as well as what was on his or her mind.

Yuuga's peers distinguished him from everyone else by his empathy. He was born with this ability to judge someone based solely on their facial expressions. Some of Yuuga's doctors referred to it as "foresight" or "the gift of prophecy."

He much preferred the name his grandmother gave it: "reading faces."

Yuuga could always tell when his friends were upset or anxious, even if they tried to disguise their faces. Nothing fooled him or got past him; not even a card champion's poker face.

In fact, whenever his parents watched a poker tournament on television, Yuuga could always tell who was really holding the best hand. He would announce to his parents things like "He's bluffing" or "He should fold." And, of course, Yuuga was always right.

In a similar manner, when he had woken up in that high school a few hours earlier, he was the first to believe that Shigenori Furutani was not lying to them when he announced that Class 3-A was in the Program. Because of that, Yuuga was able to come to terms with the scenario much more quickly than anyone else.

He never thought for a moment that the class trip would lead to the Program. But now he was there, and now his ability to "read faces" would prove to be an invaluable asset. He could sort out who meant him harm and who genuinely wanted him as an ally.

Whenever he did find someone who was playing, he only had one option. Fight back. With all the strength he could muster.

Yuuga decided he would have to play, but he would only fight other people who were playing. If anyone threatened him or his friends, he would eliminate them without hesitation. Anyone he could reason with, however, would be treated as a friend and ally.

Yuuga did not know how many of his classmates would willingly ally themselves with him. He had seen segments from some of the previous Programs over the past few years. He never watched an entire Program, but he watched enough to know that regardless of how close the students in the game were to each other beforehand, only one of them made it out alive. That was always the case; no exceptions. Yuuga knew that even the best of friends could turn on each other in the Program; the individual's will to survive could prove to be quite strong when one was placed in a potentially life-threatening situation.

Yuuga was certain that some of his classmates were already on the verge of losing themselves in the game. Back in the classroom, he had gotten a glimpse of everyone. Most of them were overcome with fear or paranoia; the rest were in the midst of contemplating the idea of playing the game in order to live.

Yuuga ultimately decided he would simply have to wait and see how things turned out. For the present, he wanted to enjoy his solitude. The streets were peaceful and quiet, but it was only a matter of time before they became be noisy and destructive.

Yuuga walked on, unafraid of encountering any hostiles. Had he been looking at his map, he would have known that he was heading towards the town square, located near City Hall. He was currently walking to the east in F-5 near the center of the city. He had passed through this square twice already, as he wanted to look over each of its blocks before moving on.

One would wonder where exactly Yuuga was going. Truthfully, even he did not know that. Right now he did not know where to go or what to do. But he wanted to get **somewhere **and he wanted to do **something**. So he marched on.

…

There was one person in Class 3-A who enjoyed solitude even more than Yuuga. In this context, "enjoyed" would be an understatement. This person relished in it, craved it, even depended on it. This person was currently on the other side of town.

In I-2, Kazuki Chikuda (Boy #13) sat under a tree on a sidewalk. Like Yuuga, he was alone. But unlike Yuuga, he was not empathic. Nor was he calm or relaxed in the slightest. He was actually close to losing himself completely.

While he did savor his solitude, Kazuki could not stand the idea that he was fighting for his life. Against his entire class, no less! He had known several of the members of his class from before junior high, and all but one of them he had known since day one of seventh grade. But he only knew them from class. Never once did he ever participate in an extracurricular activity or sign up for any sort of club.

His parents had tried on numerous occasions to convince their son to be more outgoing, but he always refused.

He never wanted anything to do with his classmates, nor did they bother to affiliate themselves with him.

The only person who ever tried to befriend him was not even Japanese. It was Blaine Rhodes… and Kazuki had tried to kill Blaine just a couple hours earlier!

A loose branch had fallen from the tree Kazuki was sitting under. He picked it up and took out a large dagger. That had been his designated weapon. With the dagger, he cut off all of the leaves. Then he used the flat edge of the blade to shave the thin layer of bark off of the tree branch. His hand moved at a quick but careful pace. It was a trivial thing, but it kept his mind occupied.

For the first time in his life, Kazuki was starting to regret being so antisocial. If he had known his ninth-grade class would end up on the Program, he would have at least attempted to become acquainted with some of his classmates. That way, he could have allied himself with them during the Program.

After all, the only thing Kazuki liked about company was the concept of "safety in numbers." He knew that in situations where death was on the line, people in groups often had a tendency to survive longer than people who operated solo.

However, he had skipped over all of his opportunities to make friends. No one knew him well enough to befriend him, and they certainly would not trust him. Not after what happened in the classroom. Not after what he tried to do to Blaine.

Kazuki was already freaking out when he woke up in that classroom. He was teetering near madness when the "new rule" was announced. What really set him off was when Furutani pointed that Walther PPK in his face; having that gun directly in front of him had convinced him that he would soon be dead.

Kazuki looked down at the branch. He had carved it into what could pass as a crude imitation of the head of a wooden spear.

Seeing his work with the dagger brought Kazuki a little comfort. In fact, it seemed to set his mind at ease.

Kazuki realized that he did not have to accept death in the Program. No one suggested that he give up on life or call his existence forfeit.

It was then that Kazuki got an idea. What if he was to play along in the Program? After all, he was ready to kill Blaine back in the classroom; there was no reason he could not kill him or the other members of his class out in the city.

He might even get lucky and end up **winning **the game. All he had to do was outlast the rest of his class or take out Blaine. Either option was fine with him; he was more than willing to kill in order to save his own life.

Kazuki picked up his dagger and got a look at it. It was about nine inches long, made of stainless steel, and came with a special handle. In fact, the handle was the most interest part of the dagger; it was just as long and just as wide as the blade. Kazuki found this to be a rather peculiar feature for such a weapon. But he did not complain; it was better than being issued some sort of toy for a weapon. Plus, the longer handle allowed him to grip the dagger with both hands without touching the blade.

Kazuki slid the dagger into his belt and picked up the hand-carved wooden branch. He decided to bring that along and to keep it as a personal souvenir. He told himself that he would frame this branch on his wall after he won the Program.

Kazuki stood up and walked down the road. After walking for a few blocks, he turned around the corner. Then he stopped right in his tracks. He spotted a figure over a hundred yards away. Initially, Kazuki thought he had been spotted. This theory was disproven when he saw the other person move in the opposite direction.

Kazuki drew his dagger out of his belt and muttered to himself "Let's follow along."

The figure was walking at a steady pace and did not appear to be in any rush. Kazuki ran as quickly and quietly as he could. He did not sprint, as he knew that the sound of his shoes striking the ground would echo all over the block.

He did not plod along either, as he did not want to risk losing the figure. He simply moved stealthily through the streets as he chased after his target.

After three more blocks, the figure stopped running and stood absolutely still. Kazuki was only about fifty feet away. From that distance, he managed to get a good look at the person he was following.

The figure was in a sailor suit, so it must have been a girl. She was fairly tall, too; almost as tall as Kazuki.

Kazuki stood thinking about who the tallest girls in his class were. There was Rumi Hakugi for one, as well as Kaminari Ishida and Maki Nakamura. However, the three of them did not strike Kazuki as the type to be wondering the streets at night on their own. They would most likely wait until morning. And Maki would have certainly noticed him by this point; she was very observant.

Kazuki saw the girl arch her neck slightly, as if she was about to turn around. Kazuki quickly jumped into the alley and put his back against the wall. Acting with as much caution as possible, he looked around the corner and saw the girl had turned around. But she was not directly facing him; she was looking off to the side as if she was looking for something.

That was when Kazuki could identify the person he was following. It was the richest member of the class, Eiko Hirakawa (Girl #17).

Kazuki had a disdain for most of his classmates. One person he particularly disliked was Eiko Hirakawa. She had everything he did not have, like money, influence, and charm.

Kazuki hated Eiko because he believed that all she had to do to make friends was pay people in order to like her. He once believed that making friends was actually as simple as that. He thought Eiko could make as many friends as she wanted. As long as she paid them, that is.

Naturally, Kazuki had looked over the important details, such as how Eiko had formed a charity group at school for underprivileged children across the country. She and her best friend Ichiko Murakami had put a considerable amount of effort into it

"They formed that group, yet they didn't do squat to make me feel better," Kazuki remarked under his breath, "I once read somewhere that on average, very rich people die at earlier ages than people with modest income. I think I'll back up that claim."

After another minute, Eiko stopped gazing around the area and walked on. Kazuki kept his distance, lest he risk Eiko discovering his presence. For every three steps Eiko took, Kazuki took four steps. He was eager to catch up to her, but he was keen enough to move at a calm pace. He was determined to mask his footsteps until the right time. He followed her all the way into H-2

When he got within twenty feet of Eiko, he spotted something else. Eiko was armed. In her right hand, she was carrying a Colt Peacemaker. Kazuki could only assume that she had already loaded it earlier. That being said, he had to proceed with caution. But the sooner he got his hands on a gun, the quicker luck would turn in his favor.

Kazuki continued pressing after Eiko. He was approaching her rather quickly. He drew his dagger from his belt and crept up behind his rich classmate. Soon, he was within ten feet of her. A wicked smile rose across Kazuki's grim face as he approached the unsuspecting girl with his dagger faintly gleaming in the moonlight.

Just before he could move in to attack, he heard a sharp "CRACK" sound, like plastic being crumpled up. The sound originated from his foot. Kazuki looked down and realized he had stepped on a discarded candy bar wrapper. A single piece of litter had given him up.

Upon hearing the sound, Eiko whipped around, raised her right arm, and pointed her Colt Peacemaker directly at the face of the person in front of her. After a moment of silence, she demanded "Kazuki? What the hell are you doing?"

Kazuki's evil grin quickly returned to his face. He glared at Eiko with that same insane look in his eye and remarked "What does it look like I'm doing, Eiko?"

"Based on your posture and your stealthy approach… I'd say you were trying to ask me out for coffee," Eiko replied in a very sarcastic voice.

"Not quite…" Kazuki answered, standing up straight and raising his dagger slightly. In an equally sarcastic voice, he told her "I was actually hoping to ask you out to a Hibachi place instead. I can do some **amazing **tricks with knives. How about you let me show you them?"

Eiko took a step back and said in a completely serious tone "You come any closer and I'll shoot you."

Kazuki merely scoffed and commented "That doesn't mean much when the hammer is still in place."

Eiko's attention was momentarily diverted towards her revolver. Kazuki was correct; the gun's hammer was still against the chamber. Eiko quickly used her thumb to pull back the hammer. The time between Eiko's realization of her error and her correction of it was no more than two seconds. However, a lot can happen in two seconds, and in those two seconds, Kazuki charged towards Eiko with his dagger raised high over his head.

…

Across town, an assembly was taking place. It was not a very large assembly. In fact, there were only five people present at it. All the same, this was the largest group formed by any of the students since the game had begun.

In a bar located in square D-7, Gakuto Yamashita (Boy #21) was standing guard near the front door. He was rubbing his forehead, contemplating the scenario. Normally, he could find a solution to just about any problem he set his mind to. But he was not certain how he would get his friends and himself out of **this** mess.

Around the room were his fellow gang members. Kaminari Ishida (Girl #2) was sitting on a bar stool by the counter, absently playing with her fingernails. Toshirou Oosaki (Boy #5) was sitting at a table in the center of the room, his attention focused on an opened bottle of vodka. Reika Fujihara (Girl #19) was sitting in a chair at another table by the wall, checking her complexion in a hand-mirror.

Kazumitsu Hayashi (Boy #16) entered the room through the back a moment later. He had already armed himself with his weapon, a military-approved flamethrower. The propane canisters were heavy, but Kazumitsu was one of the strongest people in Class 3-A; the backpack felt as light as a bag full of cotton balls to him. He held onto the gun in his right hand, leaving his left hand free.

The others turned to him as he stepped into the room.

"I checked the whole building," he reported to them, "No one's here."

"Good," commented Gakuto as he stepped away from the front door, "This will make a sufficient headquarters for the time being. We should be alright here until D-7 goes danger zone."

"Let's hope so," remarked Kaminari, "If not, I'm not afraid to get a little rough."

Gakuto looked around the room at his friends. Their entire group was accounted for, with the exception of their leader, Osamu Sano (Boy #9).

At this time, Toshirou was busy downing shot after shot of vodka from the bottle in front of him. He really needed to calm his mind after all that happened, and alcohol was as good a solution to his problem as any other remedy.

"Don't drink too much of that stuff, Toshirou," Gakuto cautioned his friend, "I'm sure I don't have to tell you that alcohol can be very fatal when consumed in large quantities."

Toshirou just scoffed and responded with "Really, Gakuto? Our classmates are killing each other out there and you're worried that I'm going to succumb to **alcohol poisoning** of all things?"

"He's got a point," remarked Kazumitsu, "I can't really blame him for wanting to have a drink. I think intoxication is the only way to put aside all the tension. Even if it's only temporary."

"Besides, don't forget that between all of us, I'm the one who's best at stomaching his liquor," Toshirou pointed out.

"That's certainly true," Gakuto agreed. He recalled one time back in Fujisawa where he and the other members of his group had all gone to a bar. They managed to get in because Gakuto knew the owner. Toshirou had had a lot to drink, but of the six of them, he was the only one that left the building sober. Gakuto and Osamu had not touched alcohol ever since that day, as they did not like the feeling of intoxication. Kazumitsu, Kaminari, and Reika still preferred a little nip of it every once in a while. Toshirou was the only member of the group that was regarded as something of a social drinker.

"So, what's the plan, Gakuto?" inquired Reika.

"I'm working on one as we speak," Gakuto announced to his friends, "However, before we get to discussing it, I think we should find Osamu first."

"What do you suggest we do?" asked Kaminari "He could be anywhere in the city."

"She's right," agreed Reika, "Trying to find Osamu would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack without knowing which haystack or even which field the right haystack is in."

"I have a simple plan to remedy that problem," Gakuto explained, "It will be 3:15 soon. Every hour starting at 3:15, one of us will go out into the city and search a certain part of it for Osamu. We'll rotate every hour until we've found him."

"That sounds like a good idea," Toshirou remarked, "I'll volunteer for the first search. Right now I'm wide awake and I don't think I can stay in this room for too long. Plus, I want to take my turn while I'm still sober."

"Maybe," stated Gakuto, shrugging, "First things first, though. How are we for weapons right now?"

"I have this," Kazumitsu replied, holding up the gun that went to his flamethrower, "I haven't tested it out yet, but I studied the manual and examined the entire contraption beforehand. It should work just fine."

"Alright then," said Gakuto, "What about the rest of you?"

Kaminari, Toshirou, and Reika picked up their supply packs and dug through them. Within the next minute, Reika pulled out a pistol with an abnormally long handle, Toshirou pulled out a pair of metal skewers, and Kaminari pulled out a large Mason jar that was filled with a colorless liquid.

Gakuto walked over to Reika and studied her gun for a moment. He told her "What you have there is a Steyr M1912 Service Pistol. Those are very popular in Europe, particularly in Austria-Hungary. All you really have to do is point and shoot and your target should go down."

"What use would we have for these?" Toshirou asked, holding up his skewers. They were both around eighteen inches long, had a flat smooth surface, and contained a jagged edge on the sharpened ends.

"Those might be more useful for situations involving hand-to-hand combat," Gakuto decided. He looked over at Kaminari and asked her "What did you get?"

"I'm not entirely sure," she replied, studying the Mason jar and its transparent contents, "All I'm certain about is that it's not water. There's a label on the side of that jar that says 'HSbF6.' What do you suppose that means?"

Gakuto stood thinking about this for a few moments. Just as Kaminari was about to open the jar, Gakuto realized that it was in fact a chemical formula. He also knew what this particular formula stood for.

He rushed over to Kaminari, almost shouting "Don't open it!"

Kaminari was alarmed by Gakuto's abrupt reaction, but quickly moved her hand away from the jar's lid. She asked her friend "What's wrong, Gakuto?"

"HSbF6 is the chemical formula for Fluoroantimonic Acid," he enlightened her, "Arguably the most lethal and corrosive type of acid ever. If you got as much as a drop on your hand, Kaminari, it would be enough to eat away your skin until a huge hole was left in your palm."

Kaminari shuddered and placed the jar on the counter, edging away from it slightly. Then she remarked in disgust "How could we possibly use **that**?"

"I can think of a few ways," said Gakuto, "But for now, let's just put it to the side. I checked my bag earlier and was given this."

At that, he pulled out a small revolver from his belt. He explained to the others "This is an IOF .32 Revolver. It's originally from India, and it's mostly only good for short-range targets. However, between this, Reika's pistol, and Kazumitsu's flamethrower, we should be able to defend ourselves from any single attacker."

"Alright then," commented Kazumitsu, "I suggest we try to find Osamu now."

Everyone agreed with this idea.

"Toshirou, I know you wanted to conduct the first search, but Reika has the best weapon in terms of survival in the city," Gakuto stated, "So she will go first."

"Alright, if you say so," Toshirou agreed, pushing away his bottle of vodka.

Gakuto turned to Reika and instructed her "I want you to conduct the first search. Be very thorough; if you don't look close enough, you might walk right by him. If you have not found Osamu by 4:00, come right back here. At 4:15, you can trade weapons with Toshirou and he'll search next. If we still have not found Osamu by 5:15, I'll search next. Then Kaminari, then Kazumitsu. We'll go in this order until we've found him."

"You got it, Gakuto," Reika smiled and saluted the class intellectual. She proceeded to remove a box of bullets from her supply pack and she loaded up the magazine that went to her machine pistol. Once the magazine was full, she slid it up through the handle and pulled back the hammer so that the chamber was loaded. She turned to the others and announced "I'm off."

Gakuto opened the door for her and she ran out into the city, alone but unafraid.

As Gakuto shut the door, he sighed and turned to the others. He remarked "I hope she'll be alright."

"She'll be fine," said Kazumitsu, "It's Osamu I'm concerned about. We have no idea what he got as a weapon or where he could be."

"You shouldn't worry too much," Kaminari stated, "After all, this is Osamu we're talking about. He's slyer than the average fox."

Toshirou smirked and thought aloud "That reasoning's good enough for me. I'm certain Reika can find him. If not, I'll look even harder. Whenever we **do **find him, we can all have a drink. It'll be on the house!"

…

By the time Eiko Hirakawa looked back up from her revolver, Kazuki Chikuda was less than two feet in front of her. She raised her gun, only to be knocked back by Kazuki. Eiko tripped over herself and landed flat on the back. Her gun slipped out of her hand and rolled across the ground. It ended up about twenty feet away from her. The force of the impact caused the hammer to latch back forward.

Eiko struggled with Kazuki for a moment. For someone who spent all his time alone, he was certainly strong.

Eiko did manage to push him off of her for the whole of ten seconds. In that time, she looked around for her gun. By the time she managed to spot it, Kazuki was coming back at her with his knife. He waved it wildly at her, slashing her just above her right knee. Eiko shouted out in pain and clutched her leg with her free hand.

At the same time, Kazuki lined up another blow with his dagger. He aimed for Eiko's throat this time. But just before he could strike, Eiko put her left foot to good use. She lifted it up and kicked Kazuki directly in his manhood. Kazuki was left stunned for a moment, as if he had the wind knocked out of him. He dropped to his knees and held his groin, moaning in pain.

Eiko just smiled and began making her way towards her revolver. The injury Kazuki had inflicted on her right leg had rendered her temporarily unable to move that leg. So she was forced to resort to crawling.

She managed to cover fifteen feet in less than a minute. She was about three feet away from it when Kazuki finally recovered from that kick. He angrily picked up his dagger and ran towards Eiko.

Just as Eiko closed her fingers around the handle of her revolver, Kazuki was upon her. Eiko swiftly turned around and pointed her gun up at him. He just slapped her across the face, making her temporarily lose her focus. Eiko struggled to retain her coordination, but the force of that blow was too much for her.

Right then, Kazuki was practically sitting directly on top of Eiko. His knees were rested on the ground by her sides, and he glared down at her with a look of complete insanity in his eyes.

Kazuki held his dagger upside down in both of his hands. After making certain he had a firm grip on it, he slowly raised it high above his head. All the while, a berserk smile appeared across his face. He was slipping away very quickly. But he was certain he would enjoy this.

Eiko was terrified. She was so alarmed by the sight of Kazuki directly in front of her with that madman smile and that raised knife that she was frozen in place.

Before long, Kazuki stopped raising his hands back and lined up his aim with the knife. Then he chuckled madly and told her "Don't look so down, Eiko. You win some, you lose some."

Eiko just closed her eyes and looked away. After a few seconds of complete silence, Kazuki brought the dagger slamming down into her chest.

Eiko gasped in shock from the impact of the knife. She felt as if she was already dying. Kazuki simply remained smiling that same insane grin just as before. Now he was certain he could win the Program. Spill a little blood in order to preserve his own? No problem.

However, just a few seconds later, their roles were reversed.

Kazuki pulled out his dagger and looked down at the spot where he stabbed Eiko. She weakly looked at the same spot.

To the vast surprise of both of them, there was no blood. Not one single drop. In fact, Eiko's shirt was still intact.

"What… the fuck?" Kazuki muttered. He looked down at his dagger. It had changed its appearance.

The blade was missing completely. All Kazuki was holding was the handle. However, he noticed something different about the handle, too. It had inexplicably grown an inch longer on the end opposite the end where the blade had been. Kazuki pressed his hand against that part of the hilt. When he applied enough pressure, the blade shot up through the other end!

"What… the… fuck… is this?" Kazuki repeated, shocked by what he had just observed. He found himself unable to comprehend what had just happened.

Eiko was far ahead of him. She realized that she actually did not feel weak at all from the stabbing; she only **thought **she had been stabbed. Miraculously, the dagger had not penetrated her skin. The dagger's hilt must have been hallow, like one of those gag gifts.

It was at that moment that Eiko realized she had the upper hand now. Kazuki was so busy mulling over his knife that she did not have to worry about him attacking her again. A wide grin slowly crept across Eiko's face as she looked up at Kazuki from the ground. She gradually pointed her Colt Peacemaker up at his head and pulled back the hammer.

Kazuki looked straight down when he heard the noise of the hammer being pulled back. He saw two things: the remarkably smug look on Eiko's face, and the barrel of her revolver.

A moment later, two things went through Kazuki's head; one only a split second before the other. The first was a bullet which entered through the underside of his chin, sailed through his skull and brain, and exited through the back of his head.

The second thing that went through his head – which was also the last thing that ever went through his mind – was a single thought. This was what he thought word-for-word: _How the __**hell**__ could I have been so stupid not to realize I was given a dagger with a retractable blade?_

Immediately after this thought went through his head, Kazuki's mind went completely blank. A significant percentage of his brain had been blown through the back of his head, primarily the area surrounded by the cerebral cortex.

Kazuki sat in place for a moment. Then he fell flat onto his back. He remained lying on the ground without moving a single muscle.

Eiko just smiled and crawled out from under Kazuki. She examined herself for injuries. Fortunately, the only one she found was the one above her knee where Kazuki had slashed her. As it turned out, that cut was not nearly deep enough to cause any long-term damage.

Eiko's satisfaction over her victory was short-lived, however. She realized there was a possibility that someone might have heard the gunshot and head her way after hearing it. So she had to get her belongings together and move on before anyone else arrived.

She slowly rose to her feet, being gentle with her right leg. She put a little weight on it and then gradually put some more on it until she was supported equally by both of her legs. She was careful not to be too hasty to use her right leg, as she did not want to risk opening the wound up any more.

The palms of her hands were a little sweaty from her fight with Kazuki. She just wiped them off against her skirt and straightened herself out. A bit of Kazuki's blood had splattered onto Eiko's face just as she shot him; she could feel it starting to dry. While she did not like the sensation of having another person's blood on her face, she decided to wait until later to wash up.

She could only imagine what she looked like at that time. Thanks to her family's wealth and prosperity, Eiko always had someone around to help her keep her hair groomed and her body cleaned. Of course, she was on her own in the Program. But she was not afraid to get a little dirty. In fact, it excited her.

She scoffed and said to herself "If my mother saw me right now, I'd bet she would be more likely to throw a fit over my appearance rather than what I just did to Kazuki."

She had tossed aside her supply pack and backpack when Kazuki jumped her. She went to get them back together. While she was at it, she decided to take Kazuki's supply pack with her. This way she would have some extra bread and water, as well as some spare equipment.

She left Kazuki's knife behind, though. Even though the knife had a real blade, it was only useful for slashing and cutting. Any attempts at stabbing with it would be impossible, given how the hilt would simply retract it. Eiko was just happy she had been given a revolver. Albeit old and antiquated, it was still in just as fine condition as the original model had been from decades earlier.

Once Eiko had gathered up everything she needed, she looked down at Kazuki's body. His eyes were staring into nothingness; his mouth was agape, as if he had been interrupted in the middle of a scream. Eiko just shook her head and remarked "I'm afraid your knife tricks were not **that **amazing, Kazuki. But at least you devoted your life to them. That's all that really matters."

Eiko turned around and exited the scene as she laughed at her own joke.

**Boy #13 Kazuki Chikuda – Dead**

**43 Students Remaining**


	8. Partners

Wataru Koumura (Boy #8) was one of the most nimble and responsive students in the whole of Class 3-A. He knew how to traverse his way through almost any environment. He could steer his way through a vast forest, a murky swamp, or an arid valley on his own instinct. He could even manage this while running at full speed. He could even get from one side of a crowded street to the other in approximately ten seconds with a focused mind.

This was one of the reasons why he was the captain of the rugby team at Keio Shonan-Fujisawa Junior High School. He never underestimated or overestimated his team's opposition; he and the coach collaboratively drew up all the plays, and almost always, they worked out as planned. He was able to direct the rest of his team through any group of muscled-bound rugby players from any of the other schools in Kanagawa Prefecture.

However, even Wataru could not steer his way through electrolyzed barbed wire. This was exactly what he was facing at this time.

He was standing in A-3 along the northern border of the city. Just as Furutani had warned the students, there was fencing set up all over, separating the vast metropolitan area from the rural city limit.

Wataru sighed in frustration as he gazed at the barrier in front of him. If he was facing a normal fence instead of an electric one, he could have simply climbed over it. He would have been willing to let his hands bleed a little in order to regain his freedom.

Wataru stepped forward until he was about five feet in front of the fence. Then he heard the sound of a gun being cocked. It came from above. Wataru looked up and saw a soldier standing guard up on a watch tower on the other side of the fence. The guard was aiming his rifle at Wataru in a menacing manner. Wataru looked to both his right and the left. There were more watch towers spread out along the border, spaced apart at approximately 800-feet intervals.

Wataru slowly backed away from the fence, his eyes focused on the guard. When he was about forty feet away from the fence, the guard lowered his rifle, but kept his eye on Wataru.

Once more, Wataru sighed in frustration and turned around, holding his the strap to his backpack over his shoulder. He began making his way back into the city.

As he walked, he looked down at the gadget in his hand. It was a hand-held computer that displayed a grid of the area. Wataru had read somewhere that in the Program, there was always one student whose designated weapon was actually a tracking device set to the frequency of the collars. He quickly concluded that he must have been his class's recipient of that "weapon."

Unfortunately, the tracking device did not have a very wide range. Wataru could only use it to determine if anyone was in the same square he was currently in. At that time, no one else was in A-3.

The very moment after Wataru left the school, he did not run down the road to the left or the right. Instead, he had decided to go ahead and check his supply pack for a weapon. He was expecting to find something like a gun or a knife at first, so he was a little disappointed to find the tracking device instead. However, while he was still standing in front of the school, he thought over the pros and cons of possessing the device, and realized he was probably better off with it than anything else. Once Wataru had figured out how to operate the tracker, he had sprinted off to the right of the school entrance.

Once he was out of C-5, Wataru pondered his options. He could hide, attempt to team up with some of his classmates, or contemplate escape.

He had spent the past few hours waiting in the squares around C-5, but he had encountered no one. At least no one he was certain he could trust. Then again, trust was hard to come by these days, even outside of the Program.

Just a half-hour earlier he had decided to get a closer look at the arena's northern border. On the way, he had found a piece of rubber lying on the curb and picked it up. Given how the rubber was black, slightly curved, and smelt of asphalt, it appeared to be a fragment of a car tire. He was guessing someone had a blowout at that spot in their car while the city was still inhabited. Might have been happened during the evacuation, given how the army probably rushed them.

From afar, he decided to use the piece of rubber to determine whether or not the fence surrounding the city was actually electric. When he was about fifty feet away, he had tossed it towards the fence. Immediately after coming in contact with the barbed wire, the rubber received a jolt of electricity and burst into flames. Wataru was a safe distance away from the fence, but he was able to clearly see both the spark and the fire from his position.

After encountering the fence and the guard, Wataru concluded that escape from the city would be impossible. At least on his own. As he walked, he began thinking about an idea he had earlier. Perhaps he had judged his classmates prematurely? There were several brilliant people in his class that might have some noteworthy ideas for getting out.

He decided he would try again. The first person he encountered, he would try to talk to them. Unless they were staggering, smiling too widely, or holding a blank expression in their eyes. Wataru knew that those were surefire signs of insanity or paranoia. Even he was not willing to trust someone like that.

After walking for a while, Wataru looked down at his tracking device again. He saw that he would be moving into B-3 in just a few seconds. There was still only one dot on the screen, meaning there was only one collar in the area – his own.

However, when he crossed over into B-3, two more dots appeared on the screen. One of them was on the other side of the block. The other… was only ten feet to his left!

A moment later, Wataru heard the sound of another gun being cocked. According to the tracker, the sound originated from approximately the same location as the second dot.

Wataru slowly turned his head to the left and saw someone standing in front of him. It was a girl with shoulder-length brown hair. Many of the girls in Class 3-A had this type of hairstyle, but few of them wore as much makeup as the girl standing in front of Wataru. He was able to identify her almost immediately.

"Namiko?" he uttered quietly, "I'm not playing! Put the gun down!"

"Wataru, is that you?" Namiko Abe (Girl #1) responded, keeping her weapon – a Smith & Wesson M29 – pointed at the rugby captain, "What are you doing?"

"I was checking out the city's northern border," he calmly told her, "It is pretty well guarded; the army spared no detail in cutting off all possible escape routes. I swear that's all I was doing; just a little investigation."

"Alright, fair enough," said Namiko, lowering her gun. She noticed the gadget in Wataru's right hand. She asked him "What's that you're holding?"

"This?" said Wataru, holding up the tracker for her to see, "It's a tracking device set to the frequency of the metallic necklaces. I read somewhere that one student in every class selected for the Program receives one of these as a weapon."

"That's what you got for a weapon?" stated Namiko, raising an eyebrow, "Interesting choice."

"I know what you mean," said Wataru, as he looked back down at the tracking device, "Can't really use it for much other than locating others. But I suppose that gives me an advantage over the rest of the class."

"That certainly is looking on the bright side," Namiko agreed, "But how about we say that… **we **have that advantage over everyone else."

Wataru was surprised to hear Namiko make that suggestion. He asked her "Are you saying that you want to… join up with me?"

"Well… yes," she responded, "I might have a better weapon, but what you've got is a very valuable tool. If we work together, we should be able to find a way out of any difficult situation."

Wataru stood thinking about this proposal for a few minutes. He knew Namiko Abe very well. She had a reputation as one of the more rebellious girls in Class 3-A. She had a bit of a criminal record, but Wataru was not entirely certain what for. He assumed it was something along the lines of petty theft or forgery.

Of course, none of that mattered in the Program. All the students in the class – even the well-behaved role models with no records – were victims of circumstance. They were all in the exact same situation for the exact same reason: pure, dreadfully bad luck.

Wataru nodded his head and told Namiko "You got a deal. I was hoping to make a few allies while I was out here."

Namiko smiled, flipped up the hammer on her gun, and said "I'm glad to hear you say that. I hate being alone, especially under these circumstances."

Wataru returned the smile, walked over to Namiko, and placed his hand on her shoulder. He told her "Don't worry; we'll be able to find others we can trust. I'm confident the Program won't get to everyone."

Namiko nodded her head as she looked up at Wataru's reassuring eyes. Then she turned her attention back to the tracking device. She asked him "What's that thing's range?"

Wataru held it up for her to get a better look and replied "It can only display all the collars within the zone it is in. For the moment, I'm getting three signals. Two of them are yours and mine. The third is coming from about a block down the road."

"That's probably Akina," Namiko theorized, "I saw her prowling around here earlier like she was looking for someone."

"I think you're right," Wataru concurred, "After I left the school, I lingered at the entrance for a few minutes. She was the one to leave immediately after me, so she probably saw me just as I headed off. She must have followed me around for about an hour. Now she's keeping her distance."

"I would have thought she'd be more focused on finding Fumitaka instead," Namiko remarked, "After all, the two of them are practically inseparable."

Wataru scoffed and said "That may be. Right now, some people are just focused on survival."

"I'd recommend we head to the east," suggested Namiko, "We can avoid Akina that way."

"Smart thinking," stated Wataru, "Make sure you keep your gun at the ready at all times. You never know who could be just around the corner."

"Alright," Namiko agreed, holding up her S&W M29, "You lead the way. I'll watch your back."

"Got it," he replied. He turned into the next street and ran down the center of it, keeping one eye on his tracking device. Behind him, Namiko was keeping up at a steady pace, her gun still on display in her right hand.

After running for about ten minutes, Wataru announced "We'll be approaching B-4 soon. In five… four… three… two… now."

Right when they crossed into B-4, Wataru came to a halt and held his arm out, gesturing for Namiko to stop. As she did so, she asked him "What is it?"

"I'm picking up another signal," he responded without looking up from his tracker, "It's coming… from a building two blocks down the road."

"Maybe we should check it out," Namiko proposed, "It might be someone we can trust."

"Alright, sounds good to me," commented Wataru as the two of them began walking in the direction of the new signal. The signal was emanating from inside a bank. Just before they reached it, Namiko said "Wait a minute. Before we both go in… maybe one of us should check it out."

Wataru shrugged and said "Perhaps we should. You stay here, I'll investigate."

He was about to head over to the bank's front door when Namiko stopped him. She said "No, I mean, maybe I should check it out."

Wataru raised an eyebrow and asked "Why do you want to do it?"

Namiko held up her S&W M29 and responded "I'm the one with the gun, remember?"

"Then why don't you just give it to me for a moment?" said Wataru.

"Because…" Namiko paused for a moment, and then answered "I wouldn't feel comfortable being unarmed and alone out here. I'm sure you can understand that."

"Of course I do," he told her, "But why don't we just go in together?"

"Because whoever's in there might actually be playing, and what if they have a shotgun, or another firearm that makes my revolver look like a water pistol in comparison?" Namiko pointed out, "If that's what it turns out to be, both of us might get killed. It's better to risk one of us than both."

"If you're that concerned, we could just not go in that building at all," Wataru countered.

"I know full well we can just pass it over," Namiko stated, "But I'm willing to take the chance. I promise you I won't do anything stupid or hasty, if that makes you feel better."

Wataru had to admit that there was logic in Namiko's reasoning. He told her "Alright, go on in. But be careful."

"Can I borrow the tracker for a moment?" she requested, "I want to use it to locate the person's exact position."

"Sure, why not?" said Wataru as he handed her the tracking device. Once she took it, she turned to the door and began walking towards it. Before she got there, she looked over her shoulder and told Wataru "If you hear any gunshots being fired, take off running. Don't hesitate to leave me behind."

"Okay, if you insist," Wataru concurred, albeit somewhat reluctantly.

Namiko stepped inside and closed the door behind her.

Wataru stood outside the bank, waiting for several minutes. He constantly looked over his shoulder to reassure himself that no one was in the area. Without his tracking device, he felt somewhat exposed. He just kept muttering to himself "Stay calm. Everything is going to be alright."

After about five minutes passed, he heard a scream coming from inside the bank. Recognizing the voice as Namiko's, he snapped to attention and ran to the door. Namiko had urged him to run if he heard a gunshot, but she gave him no instructions on what to do if he heard a scream.

Wataru hastily opened the door and rushed inside. He was standing in the front lobby of the bank, and there were three separate doors on the other walls. The one to his left was open, so Wataru ran through that one.

Once he was through it, he found Namiko. She was staggering into the room through a door on the opposite wall; her face was so pale that she looked as if she had seen a ghost.

"Namiko?" Wataru breathed quietly in alarm, "Wha… what happened?"

"There's a… a… dead body in here," she answered him, "Someone is already playing!"

Wataru was shocked to hear this. He uttered quietly "Who was it?"

Namiko replied in her previous manner "I… I don't know. The face was too heavily damaged, like it was bashed in with a mallet or something."

Wataru approached her and said "I better go check it out."

He was about to walk through the door Namiko has just come through when she grabbed his arm. She pleaded "No, Wataru! Don't go! Trust me when I say that you do **not** want to see that body."

Wataru was stunned to see Namiko was **this **shocked. Then again, neither of them had ever seen a dead body before, so how could he know how she was supposed to react?

After standing in silence for a few moments, Wataru sighed and told her "If you insist, I won't go looking for the body. Furutani should be making the first announcement in a few hours, anyway; we can just find out who it was then. In the meantime, we'd better get moving."

He turned back to the door that led out to the bank's lobby, but Namiko still held onto his arm and said "No! I don't want to leave this building. Not while it's still dark; now that I know that someone is playing, I don't feel comfortable going out in the dark. Do you suppose we could… stay here for a little while?"

Normally, Wataru would not put up with such persistent demands, especially under the present circumstances. He was fighting for his life against his classmates, he was partnered up with a girl he barely knew, and there was a dead body somewhere in the building. Now Namiko wanted to wait until light while staying in that same building?

However, Wataru had to admit he was getting tired. As an athlete, he knew that getting rest was essential in order to keep the body going physically and mentally. Plus, he needed some time to draw up a new plan.

He opened up his supply pack and took out his watch. He told Namiko "It's about 3:30 right now. The first announcement will be in two and a-half hours. That sound like enough time for you?"

"Sure," Namiko nodded her head. By now, she had calmed down considerably. She handed Wataru back his tracking device and tucked her revolver into the waistband of her skirt. Then she took off her backpack and sat down against the wall.

Wataru had left the front entrance to the bank open; he stepped out into the lobby for a moment to shut it and returned to Namiko a moment later. She smiled at him as he reentered the room. She patted a spot on the ground to her right and told him "Come on, sit down. I don't bite."

He scoffed at her remark, but removed his backpack all the same and sat down next to her. There the two of them remained for a while, alone in the dark.

…

Back at City Hall, Blaine Rhodes was fast asleep in the mayor's office. Tatsuo Inoue had finally managed to find the blueprints of the building. Obviously, the town's mayor had not been informed well in advance that his city would be used for the Program, as most of his personal documents had been left behind.

The blueprints were in the filing cabinet behind the desk. Tatsuo managed to pick the lock using a couple of paperclips. Once the cabinet was open, Tatsuo took out the files he was looking for. After sorting through the raw designs of the city layout, he managed to find the outline to City Hall.

He sat at the mayor's desk, looking them over very thoroughly. As it turned out, the bomb shelter was built directly below the lobby. There were three passages that led to it, but only one of them was inside. This one required a passcode from both the mayor and his aide. The other two passages could be accessed outside the building near the East Wing and the West Wing. They did not require a passcode, but they could only be unlocked by a skeleton key the mayor kept on hand. This presented a bit of a problem.

Tatsuo had managed to find the blueprints, but now he needed either a pair of passcodes or a key in order to get to the bomb shelter.

He sighed, pushed the chair back, and stood up from the mayor's desk. He muttered under his breath "Looks like I've got some more searching to do."

The mayor's office had been neatly and meticulously organized when Tatsuo and Blaine had entered it. Now it looked like a train wreck; Tatsuo had thrown aside a great many of his papers while searching for the blueprints. They were scattered across most of the ground in the office, littering almost every inch of floor. To make matters even more complicated, Tatsuo realized he would have to go through them **again **in order to find the passcodes.

He was not in the mood for that, so he decided to look for the skeleton key instead. After all, the passcodes may have been written on any sheet of paper in the room. There was also a chance that neither the mayor nor the aide had written them down anyway; they might have simply relied on their own memory. A key, on the other hand, would be much easier to find under the current setting.

Tatsuo began searching the room again for the skeleton key. He started by browsing through the papers littering the ground. He kept his eye out for any small metallic item. At first, all he managed to find was some paperclips and spare change amongst the files.

After searching for a while, Tatsuo sighed in anger and leaned back against the mayor's desk.

He looked across the room at Blaine. His best friend was still fast asleep.

Tatsuo was beginning to feel a little annoyed that he was doing all the work while Blaine got some rest. But he quickly reminded himself that **he** was the one who suggested that, not Blaine. In fact, Blaine had offered repeatedly to help him, but Tatsuo had insisted that he sleep.

"At least this way, one of us will be rested come sunrise," he muttered to himself.

Tatsuo looked over at his supply pack. He had opened it up and placed his Luger on top about a half-hour earlier. He wanted it at the ready in case he needed it. Of course, he had not even loaded it yet. But he wanted to wait until he thought he needed it to load it.

It occurred to him then that it would probably be better if he read over the gun manual before actually putting it to use. So he gave searching for the skeleton key a rest and went over his supply pack. He opened up his pack and extracted the gun's manual and his flashlight. He was careful not to let too much light shine across the room, lest a few rays of it got through the windows. That would be an easy giveaway of their position.

As Tatsuo read through the manual, he looked over at Blaine. Then he looked down at his Luger.

Tatsuo knew full well that all he had to do to get out of this game would be to load his Luger, aim it at Blaine's head, and pull the trigger. But he would not do it; he could not do it. He was certain that some of his classmates and friends would probably be willing to do it, but not Tatsuo.

Before Blaine had come to Japan, Tatsuo had been somewhat ostracized by a number of his schoolmates for his fascination with Western culture. Even though he was ridiculed for it almost daily, he did not care. No one could decide his interests; they were for him to decide on his own. However, he did not have many friends growing up because of it. Among Class 3-A, the only people he really talked to that much were Kiyomi, Asayo, Genji, Goro, and Chieko. Other than that, he rarely interacted with anyone else.

When Blaine came along, Tatsuo felt as though he had been given a blessing. He finally found someone he could talk to, someone he could share his interests with. He had only planned to converse with Blaine every once in a while. Instead, the two of them had become the best of friends. Tatsuo would even say that the past nine months had been the best of his entire life. What pleased him the most was knowing that Blaine was proud to call him his friend.

For those reasons, Tatsuo would not bring himself to betray Blaine. He would sooner turn his gun on his own head. Blaine had proven a few hours earlier that he trusted Tatsuo with his life. Now Tatsuo needed to return the favor by looking out for him while he slept.

He turned his attention back to the manual and read on.

…

Back in B-4, Wataru Koumura and Namiko Abe were still waiting in the bank. They had sat in silence for a long while. Wataru kept his eye focused on his tracking device for a long time.

"Anything new?" Namiko thought aloud at one point.

"Nope, nothing," he replied, putting down his tracker, "It's still just you, me, and our late friend in the next room."

Namiko sighed and rubbed her eyes. "I hope it stays that way for a while. I'm beginning to wonder if joining up with others is such a good idea after all."

"How do you mean?" asked Wataru.

"Well, think about this," Namiko explained, "There might be a little more cooperation, seeing as how there's a chance that two of us will walk out of this alive without having to escape. But how far would a group get? I mean, on one hand we have Osamu Sano's gang and Chiaki Iwasaki's clique. I'll bet they're certain they could trust each other. But how long would it be before the stress of the Program really got to them? I've seen this happen in just about every Program; none of the groups stay whole for long."

"Well, what about partners?" Wataru pointed out, "I'd bet you anything that a lot of people are pairing up out there. Pairings such as best friends, boyfriend and girlfriend, and even random people like you and me. I think there's hope for us yet."

Namiko turned to Wataru and gazed at him for a minute. Then she giggled and said "I like that."

This confused Wataru. He asked her "Like what?"

"I like the way you say 'us,'" she enlightened him, "It makes me feel as though I can really trust you."

"You can trust me," he assured her, "I've been the captain of the rugby team for a long time. I've never let my teammates down. Whenever I made an error when drawing up a play, I took the fall. But whenever we achieved victory against the rivalry team, I let them know that it was their victory. Now mine, but theirs."

Namiko giggled again and said "I like that about you, Wataru. You're so tough, yet so… modest."

Wataru smiled a little nervously and rubbed the back of his head, saying "Well… I don't know about that."

"You are right about one thing," Namiko went on, "You are a great leader. I remember the team's victory for the Prefecture cup a few weeks ago. I particularly liked when you and Kenzou fooled the other team's defense, broke through the lines, and scored the winning point across the goal line. You may have heard me cheering at the end."

He raised an eyebrow and asked her "You actually went to the games?"

"I did, as a matter of fact," she replied, "I'm a big fan of rugby, if you could believe it. Especially the games played by our own school. All those tough, agile young men getting rough on each other while they are all determined to win… what's not to like?"

Wataru did not know how to respond. He knew that several of the girls in Class 3-A enjoyed watching a game of rugby, but he never would have considered Namiko to be one of those girls. She never showed that much interest in sports. He just rubbed the back of his head and humored her, saying "Yeah, what's there not to like, indeed."

Namiko scoffed for a moment and turned her head to Wataru

"It's funny, really," she remarked, "I've fantasized about being with a rugby player quite often, like maybe at his house or at a game. Yet now I'm in the Program, and here I am alone with the captain of our school's rugby team. If this was any other time or setting…"

She stopped there and did not finish her sentence. Wataru turned his head to her and leaned forward a bit. He asked her "Well, go on. 'If this was any other time or setting…' What were you about to say?"

"Nothing," Namiko responded bluntly, brushing a lock of her hair out of her eyes, "I'm sorry, Wataru. I'm letting my personal feelings get in the way."

"Namiko, your personal feelings dictate who you are," Wataru pointed out, "They direct your impulse and make you into the person you are."

She took in his words and thought them over. Then she said "Oh, hell with it!"

She turned her whole body towards Wataru and threw her arms around him then she kissed him full on the mouth, catching him completely off his guard.

When she came apart, she looked away as if she was ashamed. She said "I'm… I'm sorry, Wataru. It's just… well… you see… the real reason I went to those games was… because of you."

"Because of me?" he repeated, still somewhat stunned by what she just did.

"Yes," Namiko nodded, "I've had a huge crush on you for the longest time. But I didn't say anything because… well… I thought you would reject me."

"Namiko, I…" Wataru tentatively began, placing his arm on the girl's shoulder. Before he could go on, she told him "I'd understand if you hate me right now. I mean, we're in the middle of the Program, and I'm letting my hormones get in the way of my judgment. If you want me to leave you alone, I will. Just say the word and I'll-"

She never finished her sentence. Wataru took her by both shoulders and pulled her closer to him. He kissed her on the lips even more firmly than she had kissed him a few moments earlier. Namiko closed her eyes, savoring the moment.

Truth be told, Wataru had always wanted a girlfriend. But no girl ever seemed interested, as they seemed to assume he either had no time for one or he had a secret lover. Truthfully, he did not have a girlfriend because he had no idea how to approach a girl. He was certain he would just end up making a complete fool of himself if he ever tried. But now Namiko Abe, one of the most developed girls in Class 3-A, was virtually offering herself up to him. Normally, Wataru would refuse such a direct approach. But now he found Namiko's offer to be irresistible. After all, they were in the Program, and there was a chance they would not be alive for much longer. If that was the case, Wataru wanted to take advantage of the present moment and learn what it actually meant to have a lover.

When they came apart again, Wataru asked her "Namiko, do you suppose that… maybe… if only for a moment… you can let me indulge you?"

Namiko just nodded her head, smiling and telling him softly "I would love that, Wataru. Thank you."

He returned the smile and pulled her close. He placed on of his arms on the back of her head and used the other one to gently lower her to the ground. He used the supply packs as a cushion for Namiko to rest on. She quickly got comfortable and said "I'm all yours."

Wataru balanced himself on Namiko, keeping his arms in the same positions as before. Namiko had her left arm around Wataru's waist and her right hand against the back of his head. They decided to skip right past casual kissing and just get ravenous. They tried French-kissing for about a minute. It was equally pleasing to both of them, even though they had never done it before.

While they were in this position, however, Namiko removed her right hand from the back of Wataru's head and tapped her knuckles against the wall three times. Then she returned her right hand to the back of Wataru's head.

Before long, Namiko started undoing the buttons on Wataru's uniform jacket. He began to do the same thing with her jacket, as well.

Wataru's tracking device was lying a few feet away down the wall. While all of this was happening, neither of them paid any attention to it. This proved to be quite foolish; the image on the screen of the tracking device started to change for the first time since they had decided to rest.

The dots which indicated Wataru and Namiko remained the same. But the third dot – the one that Namiko had claimed belonged to a dead body – was now moving. This was the first time it had moved since Wataru and Namiko had entered B-4. The dot slowly moved around the screen. It was soon in the room Namiko had left before she met up with Wataru. But the dot did not stop there. Very soon, it was positioned just outside the open door.

In reality, there was a figure standing in the doorframe. Even if Namiko or Wataru noticed it, all they could have seen was its silhouette.

The figure was holding a hammer in its right hand. It slowly turned its head towards Wataru and Namiko. After a moment of waiting, the figure quietly stepped into the room. It approached the other two students without making a single sound. Before long, it was standing right over them.

By then, Namiko was unbuttoning Wataru's shirt while he was unbuttoning her blouse. All the while, they kept their lips attached to each other's.

While they did this, Namiko slowly opened up her eyes and saw the figure standing above her and Wataru.

One might have assumed she would have screamed upon seeing the figure. However, this she did not do. She remained totally calm and let Wataru undress her. In fact, if her lips had not been pressed against Wataru's, she would have had a wicked smile across her face.

The figure took the hammer in both hands and turned held it so that the head of the hammer was facing it while the claw was facing Wataru. Then the figure slowly raised the hammer high into the air. Soon it was holding the hammer over its head, but before it could strike, Namiko held up her hand behind Wataru's head. In response, the figure stood perfectly still.

Wataru was about to help Namiko remove her blouse when he was interrupted by her whispering "Hey, Wataru. There's something you should know."

He was really aroused at this point, but he paid attention to Namiko's voice. He asked her quietly "What… what might that be?"

"That third dot…" she answered slowly, "I was thinking over its face. Now I think I know who it was."

"Really?" Wataru gasped, even though most of his focus was on Namiko's body rather than her words, "Who… who was it?"

"Nobody important," she told him calmly, "But that person… wasn't really out of the game."

This snapped Wataru back to attention. He let go of the girl, sat up straight, and stared down at Namiko. Now she was grinning evilly.

"What?" he uttered in shock.

Right then, the figure standing behind him brought the hammer crashing down.

A moment later, there was a sickening crunch sound as the claw of the hammer penetrated the back of Wataru's head. For just a moment, he felt agonizing pain in the back of his skull, just above his brain. His eyes shot wide open and his mouth fell open. His body began to undergo a violent spasm as the hammer's claw sank into the top of his brain. He tried to move, but his nerves were quickly shutting down.

About twenty seconds later, Wataru stopped shuddering and his body collapsed off to the side, his eyes still staring into nothingness. For the first time in his life, his analytical tactics had failed him. They failed him when they mattered the most.

Namiko looked up at the figure, smiling wickedly. Even though it was dark, she could see the other person smiling just as wickedly in return. The figure stepped forward, its face now visible in the moonlight peering through the windows.

It was Namiko's best friend, Rumi Hakugi (Girl #16).

She held out her hand to Namiko, who took it and let Rumi pull her to her feet.

"Great timing," Namiko told her.

"Ineffable, I'd say," commented Rumi, "Though you certainly took your sweet time with him."

"I know, I know," remarked Namiko, lightly shaking her head, "It's a bit of a shame, really. I was actually starting to like him."

"Then it's a damn good thing I intervened when I did," Rumi stated. She then noticed the tracking device on the ground. She picked it up and asked Namiko "Is this that tracker you told me about?"

"Yes, it was Wataru's," Namiko answered simply, "Now, it's ours."

"Sounds good to me," said Rumi. She put the tracker into her supply pack. Then she extracted her hammer from the back of Wataru's head and wiped off the blood. Then she turned to Namiko and told her "You might want to get dressed; it would be a bad idea to roam around the city half-naked."

"Good idea," Namiko agreed. She began buttoning up her blouse and then she put her jacket back on. Once she was dressed, she and Rumi divided up Wataru's provisions and added them to their own. Once they were packed up, Rumi stated "Let's get a move on."

The two girls held their backpacks over their shoulders and held onto their supply packs with their left arms. They headed out to the bank's lobby and made their way through the front entrance, heading back out into the streets.

**Boy #8 Wataru Koumura – Dead**

**42 Students Remaining**


	9. Feats Of Attraction

**Note: My apologies for not updating all week. I was busy studying for my winter finals. Fortunately, the last one was yesterday evening, so now I'm done with studying until sometime next January. That means more frequent updates for this fanfic!**

At first glance, anyone would think of Namiko Abe and Rumi Hakugi as nothing more than typical junior high school students. In actuality, they were two of the most uncivil people in the whole of Class 3-A. Just about everything they did outside of school went against the Kanagawa Prefecture's standards of etiquette.

The two of them managed to meet up shortly after Rumi had left the high school. She had seen Namiko run to the right of the front entrance, so she decided to go that way as well. As luck would have it, Namiko was waiting for her in the shadows. After the two of them met up, they began developing a plan to win the Program. This was where their experiences in crime would really benefit them.

Not many people at Keio Shonan-Fujisawa Junior High School had criminal records. Namiko and Rumi were two of the few exceptions. They had been picked up by the police at least twice for petty theft, fraud, and extortion. However, the cops had only recorded a small percentage of their criminal activity. The two of them had managed to get away with much more than just stealing, forgery, and blackmail.

Both of the girls were still months away from their sixteenth birthdays, but their bodies had matured very quickly, especially Rumi's. In fact, Rumi was often mistaken as being either twenty or twenty-one years of age by complete strangers. Both of the girls used this to their advantage to earn a little extra cash.

They frequently engaged in acts such as prostitution and armed robbery. Whenever an exceptionally rich person came into town – such as a high-roller or a major-league athlete – the two of them would try to "meet up" with this person at some point. If they managed to get the person's attention – which could normally be accomplished easily enough by giving a subtle flash of their cleavage – they would try to lure that person into an apartment or motel for the night. Then once they were alone, Rumi would usually be the one to seduce the person. She was normally the one to do this because – thanks to her body – she could pass off as a young adult. Meanwhile, Namiko would be in the next room, secretly recording what happened next on her phone. Once Rumi and the other person were… finished, Rumi would reveal that she was actually fifteen instead of twenty-one. Then Namiko would come out into the room and show the man the video. After this, they would give the man a simple proposition: he would give them a certain sum of money, or they would show the video to the police, which would be enough to get him arrested for having sex with a minor.

This ploy always worked. They did this at least once a month; depending on how often a celebrity came to Fujisawa. The rest of the time, they were just the typical streetwalkers.

In terms of normal prostitution, Namiko was usually the one who seduced the middle-class men they came across – such as the everyday bureaucrats and merchants they encountered on the streets. These were the types of men that desperately needed a distraction from their jobs or families. Namiko and Rumi were more than willing to give these men this distraction. They would not be as demanding from these men, as they found them much easier to identify with and much more understandable than the wealthy big shots who visited the town.

They had been doing this together ever since they were thirteen. Both of the girls had lost their virginity when they were twelve, but their bodies had still retained their most appealing features. In terms of beauty, the only other girls in Class 3-A who had a chance at rivaling Namiko and Rumi were Reika Fujihara and Kiyomi Takayama. It was common knowledge that Reika had more admirers than any other girl in Class 3-A, and Kiyomi was already claimed by Blaine Rhodes. In addition to this, unlike Namiko and Rumi, Reika and Kiyomi were still virgins.

Namiko and Rumi were a little jealous of Reika; she had managed to get into Osamu Sano's gang while they normally just had each other for company. They were also jealous of Kiyomi for how she was in a stable relationship with Blaine while he had always refused their advances. They came to resent Blaine for the firm dismissals he gave them whenever they approached him.

However, they were glad that Blaine had stayed for the class trip. Had he decided to go home, the new rule to the Program would not have been introduced.

Namiko and Rumi actually had their own plan to win the Program by working together. They were delighted to know that there was a chance that the Program would have two winners this time around. All they had to do in order to ensure they both survived would be to kill Blaine.

Namiko and Rumi saw no ethical dilemma in killing their classmates in order for them to survive. Thus, they certainly saw nothing wrong with taking out Blaine. They decided that they would make finding him their top priority. However, in order to ensure each other's safety, they agreed that neither of them would kill Blaine until near the end of the game, when only the three of them would be left.

"If we do find Blaine soon, what do you suggest we do with him?" Rumi asked Namiko as they walked down the street together

Namiko shrugged and responded "I'm not entirely certain. I suppose maybe we could just try to knock him out and keep an eye on him."

"I like that idea," Rumi remarked deviously, "But that might prove to be a little problem. Maybe we should find something to restrain him with first."

"You mean like rope or a pair of handcuffs?" queried Namiko.

Rumi slowly turned to her friend and nodded, smirking deviously. "I like that idea. And who knows? If you were lucky, Blaine might actually be into BDSM."

Namiko chuckled and patted her friend on the back, telling her "You have a sick mind, Rumi. Probably the most twisted mind of anyone I know… and I love that about you!"

Rumi remained smirking and said "I'm glad to hear that, Namiko. But seriously, what should we do with Blaine when we find him?"

"I've been thinking up a little plan," Namiko explained, "First, we'll have to subdue him somehow. Once he's out, we'll have to tie him up so that he cannot escape. Then we'll hide him to make sure that no one else finds him. Then I suppose we can just leave him wherever we find him until it's down to just you, me, and him."

"What if the building we keep him in becomes a danger zone?" Rumi inquired, "That could present us with a bit of a problem."

"Oh, that's a good point," Namiko agreed. She stood rubbing her chin for a while, looking off to the side in thought. Eventually, she turned back to Rumi and told her "I guess we'll just have to find a way to move him from one square to another. We'll have to make certain he's conscious so that he'll be able to walk on his own; it would be a pain-in-the-ass to drag him everywhere we went."

"I can live with that plan," stated Rumi, "By the way… if – or when – it gets down to the three of us, we'll have twenty-four whole hours from the time the last person dies to the deadline of the next kill. We could do a lot of things in one whole day. Who's the say we'd have to kill Blaine as soon as it gets down to the three of us? For a while, he might still be good for something else… if you know what I mean."

Namiko saw where Rumi was going with this subject. She slyly commented "You want to have some 'fun' with him?"

"That's exactly what I'm hoping for," Rumi replied, nodding her head, "I've heard that the average American man has a stronger sexual prowess than the average Japanese man. I suggest we find that out ourselves."

"Now you're talking," said Namiko, an evil grin extending across her face, "We can finally get him to stop ignoring us. He'll have no choice but to accept our advances this time."

"Let's hope so," stated Rumi, "But even if he does turn us down, we can still **force **him to cooperate. He'll see that we can please him far more than Kiyomi ever would."

"That's a great idea," Namiko concurred, "We might as well make his last moments alive worthy of remembrance. Just think of it: a young American is being held prisoner in a life-threatening scenario by two of his female classmates in Japan who both want to seduce him. I can think of a few guys who would **adore **that kind of attention."

"Wow, Namiko," said Rumi as she started chuckling, "The way you described the setting… that almost makes it sound like the premise to a porn film."

At that, Namiko burst out laughing in amusement; Rumi soon joined her. However, they were careful not to laugh too loudly, lest they risk being overheard by an ambitious player.

Once they calmed down, they continued moving south.

One would wonder why the two of them were so sexually interested in Blaine Rhodes. It was not because of his looks, his talents, or even his charisma. It was simply because he was an American. Both Namiko and Rumi had slept with at least a dozen Japanese men ranging in age from sixteen to forty. But they had never managed to seduce an American before. They had never even given the concept much thought until Blaine joined their class. After seeing how resilient he was in just about everything he did, the two of them decided that they would try to get him in bed.

But before they had this opportunity, the number of participants in the game would have to drop significantly. Rumi and Namiko had already formulated a strategy in order to win the game. About an hour earlier, they had arrived at the bank in B-4 and decided to make plans from there.

They wanted to try to eliminate as many of their classmates as possible and they wanted to do this as quietly as possible. In order to execute this strategy, they would have to lure their victims inside a building and then kill them. If they killed their targets indoors, the bodies would be out of the streets, and therefore, out of sight of anyone passing by.

They concluded that it would probably be most efficient if one of them lured their classmates indoors while the other delivered the killing blow. After checking their supply packs, they discovered that Namiko had a Smith & Wesson M29 while Rumi had a standard hammer. They wanted to try to put off making too noise until the sun rose; so Namiko decided that she would be the first one to search the streets for a victim, as her weapon was not as subtle or as quiet as Rumi's.

The rest of the plan was supposed to be fairly simple; Namiko would take whoever she found first back to the bank and lead them into a room where Rumi was waiting with her hammer at the ready. However, there was one thing they had not factored into the plan – the possibility that whoever Namiko encountered might have been issued the tracking device.

Namiko had only been wondering the streets for about fifteen minutes when she encountered Wataru. She quickly decided that he would be their first victim and easily got him on her side. She was secretly dismayed to discover that Wataru had the tracking device as his weapon. As soon as they stepped into B-4, he would be able to spot Rumi.

All the same, Namiko was not going to give up on the plan so easily; so she improvised. Convincing Wataru to let her investigate the bank on her own proved to be somewhat difficult, but she managed it. Once she was inside the bank, she explained to Rumi the situation. Even if Wataru did not have the tracking device, they knew he would be difficult to take down, as he had superb reflexes and awareness. So they had to revise their plan.

In order for them to take down Wataru, they would have to get him to let his guard down. This included diverting his attention from his tracking device and providing him with a distraction so that he would not notice Rumi entering the room. So they decided to have Rumi play dead while Namiko sat with Wataru in the next room. From there, she would become gradually and consistently more intimate with Wataru until she was convinced that all his attention was on her. Seducing him proved to be all too easy; the rugby captain was more than willing to give in.

Once this was accomplished, Namiko would simply knock on the wall to give Rumi the signal to move in.

The rest you know; Rumi killed Wataru with her hammer, making him their first victim. In addition to that, the girls now had the tracking device. They were confident that they would win this game, now that they had an upper hand over everyone else.

…

Rumi and Namiko were both very mature for their ages. Even though they looked much older than typical schoolgirls, their views of the world suggested that they were even more mature mentally than physically.

There was one girl in the class who was just the opposite. This girl was wondering through the apartment complex in C-9.

Misaki Ozawa (Girl #7) had never been more nervous in her entire life than she had been at this moment. She was on her own at this time, but she was not certain whether or not she wanted it to stay that way.

At the very least, she had been given a decent weapon. She had been given a 9mm submachine gun. However, she was not entirely certain that she would be able to use it. She had looked over the manual several times within the past few hours, making sure it was properly loaded and that her grip was correct. But she had never fired a gun before; she was barely even certain she could aim it properly.

Misaki was a beautiful girl; even though she was only fifteen, she had the body of a nineteen or twenty year-old. Puberty had been inordinately gracious to her.

However, despite how she physically looked older, she was not nearly as mature mentally. In fact, some would say that she had the mind of a child.

Throughout the school year, she rarely participated in a discussion during government or economics class. She was mostly just discussing more trivial matters like fashion, makeup, and similar concepts with her friends. Whenever her friends had an adult conversation, she rarely participated or contributed her opinion. She found that the topics they discussed to be quite dull.

Misaki was not unintelligent; she always scored high marks in all her classes. But her somewhat ditsy mindset and her unsophisticated interests often led other people to believe that she was simple-minded. As a result, she was frequently alienated by most of the class.

Normally, Misaki would not mind this. But here in the Program, she was very afraid of being alone. She prayed that she would somehow find some people to meet up with, even though only a few members of the class actually considered Misaki their friend. This she was aware of, which made her frantic, as she had no idea who she could trust.

Despite her fair façade and her grown appearance, Misaki did not have as many boys fawning over her as Rumi or Namiko. Most boys just kept their distance from her because they thought she was dim-witted or just weak in the mind.

There were two boys in the class that really acknowledged her. One of them was Blaine Rhodes. Misaki was one of the people who remained indifferent to Blaine's presence the entire time he was in Japan, even upon his arrival. All the same, Misaki was grateful that he at least listened to her; most other boys in the class would hardly even give Misaki the time of day.

The other boy who did not ignore her was the very boy she had had a crush on ever since elementary school. Misaki had been in love with this boy ever since the fourth grade. A week after the school year had begun, they had met by chance. He actually ended up saving her life.

Very early one morning – even before any of the students arrived – a pipe burst outside a drinking fountain on the second floor of their elementary school. The plumbers got there early and fixed the problem before it got worse. While they did their job well enough, the janitor had neglected to completely mop up all the water on the ground surrounding the water fountain.

Later on, the students arrived at the school. After putting some of her books in her locker, Misaki had gone up the main staircase to find her homeroom on the second floor. This staircase happened be located right next to the malfunctioning water fountain. When Misaki reached the top of the stairs, she slipped on the wet concrete flooring and fell backwards.

She would have broken her neck had someone not grabbed her before her head could hit the ground. This person quickly got under her and caught her in his arms as she fell. He struggled with her a moment, but then he recovered and gently set Misaki down on her feet. She almost felt as if she was in a time warp; everything had happened so quickly.

By the time she recovered from her shock, she turned to see the person who had saved her. It was another student. She had never met this person before; as he looked new to the school. All the same, she told him "Thank you for saving me."

He just smiled and told her "It's no problem. I couldn't just let you fall and smash your head in, now could I?"

"No, I… guess not," Misaki replied tentatively. There was a short period of silence between the two. Eventually, Misaki looked away awkwardly and said "I guess I better get going. I need to get to homeroom."

"Yeah, me too," stated the other student, "I have to find the homeroom for someone named Takahashi-sensei."

"Really?" said Misaki, turning back to him, "That's my homeroom teacher, too!"

"Well, isn't that a coincidence?" remarked the other student, "How about we go there together?"

"Ummm… sure, that would be great," Misaki responded, "I'd recommend watching your step at the top of the staircase, though. It's a little slippery."

"I'll bet it is," said her classmate, "I figured that either the floor at the top is wet or you're just a little clumsy. Glad to see it's not the latter."

Misaki chuckled and told him "I can be clumsy at times, but not usually when climbing stairs."

The two of them then walked together up the staircase and went to find their homeroom. Just before going in, Misaki held out her hand to the boy and told him "By the way, my name is Ozawa. Misaki Ozawa. What's your name?"

The boy paused for a second, as if he was not going to respond. Then he just remained smiling, took Misaki's hand, and shook it vigorously, telling her "Nishihara. Genji Nishihara."

From that day on, Misaki felt her heart beat faster whenever she heard that name. She and Genji ended up being in the same class for six years, from fourth grade to the ninth grade.

Initially, she felt strong feelings for Genji simply because he had saved her. But overtime, Genji became more and more involved in the schools' activities. He grew to be a strong, tall, caring, and very diplomatic young man. He was also elected Class President every year.

As Genji's charisma increased overtime, so did Misaki's feelings for him. For the longest time, she wanted to actually be with him. However, being as naïve as she was, she had never considered actually approaching Genji and talking to him about that. She believed that it was always the men that made the first move to begin a relationship.

All the same, she always tried passing subtle hints to Genji to make him more aware of her feelings. Soon enough, he caught on, but he seemed either unwilling or unable to reciprocate them. Despite this, Misaki never got over her crush for him.

In fact, at this time, she was hoping that she would run in to him. Not only because she was in love with him, but also because he had always been a leader.

Misaki felt like she was in some old European fairy tale. It actually did feel like one to her: a young girl who is trapped in a dangerous environment has to face monsters around every corner to achieve her salvation. At the same time, the girl would hold out hope that a brave young man would come to her aid and take her away from this terrible place.

The only difference, of course, was that these "monsters" were human; they were her own classmates. But in her ignorance, Misaki could only interpret her place in the Program as something out of a fairy tale.

She kept her grip on her submachine gun steady. Even though she had no experience with guns, she was certain she would be able to use it. While her mind may have been underdeveloped, her survival instincts were as strong as anyone else's.

At one point, she approached the end of a block and turned around the corner. Immediately after this, she halted in her steps.

There was light emanating from a window on the next lot. Someone was in this part of the city with her.

Misaki felt herself overcome with anxiety once more. Her attention was focused on the window. A wise person would have just backed away and moved on. But Misaki decided to investigate the light. She might not have been sagacious, but she was not afraid of taking chances.

Misaki slowly crossed the street, keeping her gun pointed towards the window. Before long, she reached the front door. Very cautiously, she took the doorknob and turned it ninety degrees clockwise. She pushed the door open and stepped into an empty corridor.

Misaki silently closed the door behind her and griped her submachine gun with both hands.

She saw that the light was coming from the adjoining room. She began making her way there as quietly as possible. From underneath the door, she could see a shadow passing by every few seconds. Whoever was in there must have been pacing.

Just as she approached the door, Misaki pressed her foot down a little too hard. The floorboard beneath her feet creaked noisily.

A moment later, the shadow approached the door and pulled it open. Misaki pointed her gun upwards at the figure and held her finger on the trigger.

The figure raised its hands over its head in surrender. It yelled "Misaki, don't shoot!"

Based on the voice, the figure was a boy. This boy was very tall, at least fifteen inches taller than Misaki. But his face was still immersed in shadow, as all the light from the next room was coming from the lamp directly behind him. Keeping her finger on the trigger, Misaki stepped forward and demanded "Step into the light."

The figure complied. He took two steps backwards and let the light from the lamp in the next room shine on his face.

It was Genji Nishihara (Boy #14).

…

There were two major apartment complexes in the city. They ran across the city's western and eastern borders. Misaki was in the one that ran across the eastern border.

On the other side of town, Mamoru Niwa (Boy #15) was making his way through the apartment complex that ran along the western border. His current location was in the middle D-2.

He was trying to make his way to D-1, near the center of the western border. Most cities in the Saitima Prefecture had private, fenced-off apartments for wealthier inhabitants in that part of town. He hoped that this one would not be an exception. Otherwise, his plans to rendezvous would be compromised.

Back in the classroom, while Furutani was dismissing the students one-by-one, Mamoru had written out a note to his girlfriend, Yasuko Oomori (Girl #6). He gave her explicit instructions to go to the private apartments in D-1 and to wait for him there.

Mamoru was hopeful that she got there safely; he did not know what he would do if she got harmed.

In his hand, Mamoru held a gun similar to the type Furutani carried around. However, Furutani used a Walther PPK; Mamoru had been given a Walther P88. There were some minor differences between the two models, most of them in favor of the PPK series. But Mamoru was just glad he had been given a good weapon. He would be able to defend himself (and Yasuko once he found her) from any dangers.

Mamoru had already been out on the streets for a couple hours. However, he was taking no chances. Every time he saw one of his classmates on the same street as him, he decided to take an alternate route to avoid any encounters. It was somewhat difficult for him to keep track of who he saw and where he saw them, but he kept his mind focused on getting to D-1 safely.

"If I don't get to D-1 soon, Yasuko might get worried," he whispered to himself, "She might go looking for me if I don't show up within the next few hours."

In his instructions, Mamoru had practically **pleaded **to Yasuko not to leave D-1 until he found her. He was confident that she would not do anything to risk her life. After all, he was always looking out for her, even when there was nothing to worry about.

While making his way from the school to the apartments, Mamoru had been working out another plan for what he would do once he found Yasuko. It was a simple plan, but a very serious one. He was not certain she would want to go along with it. All the same, he would try to get her to go along with it.

Mamoru and Yasuko had been dating ever since the middle of seventh grade. Like all couples, they had their fair share of ups and downs. But they were easily the most intimate couple in the whole of Class 3-A. Outside of class, they were frequently seen making out in the hallway or planning a date during lunch. Often, they did their schoolwork together, even though neither of them needed assistance in handling the material. They mostly did this as an excuse to spend more time around each other.

Mamoru loved Yasuko; she loved him in return. Now their class was in the Program and they needed each other more than ever.

A few minutes later, Mamoru came across a metal fence. He quickly took out his map and looked it over. He easily determined that he was not nearing the city limits; he had not covered enough distance for that to be possible.

After studying the map, Mamoru concluded that he had just entered D-1 and he was now facing the private apartment complex. Just as he predicted, it was there.

Mamoru approached the gate to the private apartments, finding it padlocked shut. The only way to the other side would be to go over it. He took his Walther P88 and tucked it into his belt. Then he slid his supply pack and his backpack off his shoulders. He swiftly tossed them over the metal fence.

After this, he started climbing up the fence, using a firm grip to avoid sliding down the thin bars. The fence was about fifteen feet tall, but Mamoru was a very good climber.

Soon, he made it to the top of the fence. He pulled himself to the top and slid his legs over to the other side. Then he carefully climbed down the fence until he was about three feet above the ground. Then he let go of the fence and dropped to the ground, landing flat on his feet. He was now in the private apartment complex.

Once he was in, Mamoru picked up his backpack and supply pack and put them back over his shoulders. He found himself facing a large, green courtyard. A rather rare and pleasant sight to find in such a large urban area.

There was a large fountain in the center of the courtyard. Mamoru slowly approached it and saw that there were dozens of coins in the water in the largest part of the fountain. He just smirked and said to himself "I guess even the rich folks have wishes."

"Who **doesn't** have wishes?" said a soft voice behind him.

Mamoru jumped at the sudden voice. He turned around quickly, keeping one hand on his handgun. But when he was facing the person who spoke to him, he almost immediately calmed down.

Yasuko Oomori was standing right there before him. She was smiling warmly.

"Took you long enough," she told him cheekily, a strange contradiction from her normally docile behavior.

"I'm sorry if I kept you waiting," he replied, "I didn't want to encounter anyone on my way here, so I had to make a few detours."

"I'm just glad you're here now, Mamoru," said Yasuko. She stepped forward and threw her arms around her boyfriend, embracing him lovingly. Mamoru tenderly returned the hug and held her close. Both of them just stood there for about a minute, letting all their worries momentarily drift away.

When they came apart, Mamoru asked Yasuko "Have you tried getting into any of the apartments yet?"

"As a matter of fact, I have," she replied. She turned around and point out the building right next to them. She told him "This one was unlocked. I decided to go ahead and make myself at home. And in case you're wondering, I put both my backpack and my supply pack in there. That's why I don't have them with me right now."

"Oh, alright," said Mamoru, only then realizing that Yasuko had neither of her two packs, "Do you know what you were given for a weapon?"

"Actually, yes," she replied, smirking a little.

At that, Yasuko took a large aerosol can out of her jacket pocket. She showed it to Mamoru and almost laughed when she saw the expression on his face.

"Bear mace?" he remarked, reading the label on the can, "Why the hell would they give you – or anyone else – something like bear mace?"

"I don't know," Yasuko answered simply, sliding the can back into her jacket, "But at least I'd be more than capable of defending myself with that."

Mamoru smiled and told her "Don't worry about defending yourself, Yasuko; that's my job."

"You've always made it your job," she pointed out, continuing to smile at him.

He sighed and slowly nodded his head, commenting "Yeah. I… I guess I have."

Yasuko noticed her boyfriend's abrupt change in emotion and asked him "Mamoru, are you alright?"

"Yeah, Yasuko, I'm fine," he assured her, "It's just… I don't know how long I'll be able to protect you in the Program. I mean, who can we trust apart from each other?"

Yasuko did not know how to respond. She said a few moments later "I'll tell you what I think. I think we should just stay here as long as we can until the area becomes a danger zone."

"That was part of my plan," Mamoru replied, "But once D-1 **does **go danger zone… what happens next? We'd have to go back into the city. Sooner or later, we will run into someone. And there's a chance that person might actually be playing."

The two of them stood in silence for a very long time. Then Yasuko looked up at Mamoru and suggested "Let's go inside. We can talk about plans over a glass of green tea."

Mamoru slowly nodded his head and said "Alright. I suppose we aren't in any rush. At least not yet."

Walking arm-in-arm, the two of them approached the front entrance to the nearest apartment building, opened the door, stepped inside together, and shut the door behind them.

...

Back in C-9, Misaki Ozawa found herself in a remarkable situation. All this time, she had been hoping to run into Genji Nishihara. She was hopeful that he would find a way out of the Program and that he could help the rest of the class. Most of all, she was hopeful that he would return her feelings of affection.

Yet now here she stood, pointing a gun at him, looking as if she was going to shoot him.

Genji appeared to be quite alarmed. Who could blame him? After all, having a submachine gun pointed at one's head was very undesirable under any circumstances.

Misaki felt her mood change from fear to joy in a fraction of a second. She lowered her submachine gun and took her left hand off of the front handle. She said "Oh, Genji, it's… it's you! Thank God I found you!"

Genji slowly lowered his hands and smiled at Misaki. He told her "You gave me quite a fright there. I actually thought you were going to kill me."

"No, I could never hurt you," she replied. At that, she stepped forward and hugged Genji with her free left arm. He slowly returned the hug as a friend.

When they pulled apart, Genji said "That's quite a nice weapon you got there. It's a Heckler & Koch MP5, originally manufactured in West Germany during the 1960s. Quite an efficient model, I must say."

Misaki smirked and commented "I suppose so. I just hope I don't have to use it just yet."

"Be happy you got something useful as a weapon," Genji advised her, "You want to know what **I **got?"

"What did you get?" she inquired.

Genji put his hand into the right pocket of his uniform jacket and pulled out a single thumbtack. He held it up for Misaki to see. After a moment of observing it, she burst out laughing. Before long, Genji joined in, too.

"Wow, talk about bad luck!" Misaki chortled, "How the hell could **that **ever be deadly?"

"I have no idea," Genji replied, putting the thumbtack back into his pocket, "But I guess life's just full of disappointments."

"That I can agree with," said Misaki. She looked across the room at the lamp and asked Genji "Why did you turn the lamp on? Don't you know that lights could attract the attention of anyone in the area?"

"Truthfully, that's why I turned it on," Genji informed her, "I decided to use the lamp as a beacon to encourage people to find me. I knew it would be a little risky business, but I was willing to take the chance."

"Just as I was when I decided to investigate," Misaki noted. She looked around the apartment and said "Nice place you got here. Pity it isn't yours."

"It is for the moment," Genji corrected her, "Despite the situation, I couldn't be more satisfied. Here I am, alone with a pretty girl in a high-class apartment."

Misaki was stunned to hear that from him. She slowly looked up and said "You… you think I'm pretty?"

"Of course I do," Genji responded, "I also know that you have had a crush on me ever since that day in the fourth grade."

"I'd actually be surprised if you weren't aware of that," said Misaki, "After all, I was about as subtle in expressing my feelings for you as Adolf Hitler was in expressing his dislike for people of the Jewish faith."

"I wouldn't go quite **that **far," stated Genji, "But Misaki… I know this may not be the most ideal time or the most ideal place, but… now that we're here and by ourselves… would you like to… I don't know… know what it's really like to have a boyfriend? If only for a moment?"

Misaki felt as if her heart was going to explode. Genji had offered to treat her like a woman. After being in love with him for so long, he was finally giving in to her. For a short time, Misaki forgot all about the worries and troubles of the Program and focused on what Genji was saying.

"I would love that, Genji," she replied, "What do you have in mind?"

"For starters, this," he answered. At that, he placed his hands on Misaki's cheeks and pulled her closer. Then he kissed her full on the lips. Misaki savored that moment, just as she savored the feeling of Genji's lips against hers. It was illustrious and wonderful to her. It was everything she had always fantasized about!

After a moment, Genji told her "Hold on. I'll be right back."

Misaki nodded eagerly and watched as he left the room.

There she stood waiting for him to return. She began to wonder what he wanted to do next. Would there be more kissing? Kissing with a greater ferocity? Maybe kissing with some cuddling? Or perhaps he wanted to go even further than that.

Misaki was secretly hoping that Genji wanted to go all the way. But she was certain she would be satisfied with whatever he wanted to do with her.

A moment later, Genji returned and held out his hand to her, saying "Come with me."

She eagerly took his hand and let him lead her down the hall. At the end of it was a bedroom with a king-sized bed. Misaki felt a wide smile come across her face as turned to Genji. She eyed him lustfully. After following him for so long, Misaki felt she would finally get to see Genji without his uniform on.

Genji just remained smiling and held his arm out to the bed, telling her "Dive on it. I'll follow you."

Misaki nodded and placed her submachine gun against the wall. Then she approached the bed and turned her back to it. Misaki tossed herself backwards onto the bed. She landed entirely on the mattress, her head ending up on the top pillow.

However, immediately after her head came in contact with the pillow, Misaki froze. Out of nowhere, she felt a tremendous amount of pain in the back of her head. It felt as if she had been stung dozens of times by a swarm of bees all at once.

But the pain of a bee sting is usually short-lived and quick; the stings Misaki felt were much more severe and the pain did not go away. If anything, it only got worse.

Misaki wanted to scream, to cough, or at least call out to Genji for help. She found that she could not even move, as the pain in the back of her head had practically numbed her muscles.

She looked up at Genji and weakly mouthed the words "Help me… please…"

She was expecting Genji to come to her aid, just as he had done in the fourth grade.

However, this time he did nothing to help her. He just stood at the doorframe with his arms folded. He was still smiling at her. But this smile was very different from his trademark smile. It was devoid of friendliness and hospitality; it was the smile of a sadist.

Misaki almost felt as if she was staring at a stranger. Genji Nishihara was one of the kindest, most helpful, most civil people she had ever known. The person she was facing now looked corrupt, twisted, and even bloodthirsty. But it was still Genji Nishihara.

Genji slowly approached the bed and sat down on the side next to Misaki. He leaned closer to her ear and told her "You should learn not to be so hasty. Being too eager can lead to some very unpleasant things. Case in point, you should have asked yourself this: how much do you really know about me? Did you really think I would fuck a classmate who I barely know outside of the fact that she follows me like a fangirl almost every single day?"

Misaki could not respond because of the pain she was under. And even if she could respond, she did not know what to say. She had never heard Genji speak that way to anyone. All she could do was weakly struggle and attempt to sit up. But whenever she got so much as an inch up off the bed, she kept collapsing backwards.

After a few moments, Genji took his thumbtack back out of his pocket. He held it out for Misaki to see. Then he remarked "I told you that this was my weapon. That is in fact true. However, I never specified the **quantity **I was given."

At that, Genji took a small plastic box out of his other pocket. He held it up and told Misaki "This box was full of thumbtacks when I found it in my supply pack. Alone, they don't cause much damage. But when put together, they can be pretty deadly."

Earlier on, Genji had found a large piece of a cardboard in one of the apartment's closests. It was about ten inches long and ten inches wide. Once he was satisfied with its dimensions, he had taken the cardboard out to the kitchen and extracted his box of thumbtacks from his supply pack. There, he took out all the thumbtacks and inserted all but one of them into one side of the cardboard. When he was finished, Genji had a cardboard square aligned on one side with hundreds of the blades of hundreds of thumbtacks. All he needed then was a target.

When Misaki came by, his search for a target was quickly over. He had been aware for a long time that Misaki had a crush on him, so he concluded that the best place to get her with his improvised weapon would be the bedroom.

When Genji had left Misaki alone, he had picked up his piece of cardboard in the kitchen and taken it to the bedroom. There, he had slipped the cardboard face-up into the pillowcase of the top pillow. Now the vast majority of the thumbtacks had cut through the back of Misaki's head.

"Right now, you're probably feeling a numbing sensation all over your body," Genji calmly explained to Misaki, "That's because your nervous system has been neutralized. You couldn't move as much as your finger if you wanted. Which makes what I'm about to do all the more easy."

Misaki stared in terror as Genji picked up a pillow from the other side of the bed. He turned to her and said humorously "Let's make you a little more comfortable."

At that, he leaned closer to Misaki and pressed the pillow firmly against her face. She desperately tried to push Genji away, but she could not move her neck.

Genji kept pressing the pillow against Misaki; she quickly found herself unable to catch her breath. She tried with as much force as she could muster to sit up, but it was a futile effort. Genji was snuffing her out, and she could not do a thing to prevent him!

Before long, Misaki stopped struggling altogether and stayed absolutely still. Genji kept the pillow in place for a little while longer. Then he finally pulled away.

Misaki was staring into nothingness. Her face bore an expression of panic mixed with terror. While she may have had a simple view on the world, in her last moments, she came to realize a fundamental truth: life is not a fairy tale. The girl is always left alone to defend herself and the monsters are not her biggest threat. In actuality, the young man is just as much a danger to her as the monsters.

Genji rose to his feet and remarked "At least I finally got you to stop stalking me."

He stood up and went to the wall. He picked up her gun and looked it over. He thought aloud "Seeing as how you won't need this anymore, I'll be more than happy to take it off your hands for you."

After this, he picked up his supply pack and his backpack and slung them over his shoulders. He turned to Misaki's body one last time and stated "You just stay there and relax. I need to get going; I got a game to win."

With that, he stepped outside of the bedroom and made his way to the front room of the apartment. He turned the light off and walked out into the corridor. As he approached the front door, he muttered under his breath "That's one. Let's see how long until I make it two."

**Girl #7 Misaki Ozawa – Dead**

**41 Students Remaining**


	10. Bonds Of Loyalty

**Note: Several times in this chapter, I mention a short story entitled **_**Patriotism**_**. I read it in my senior year of high school and I decided to reference it in this chapter, as it seemed to make a perfect analogy. Just so you know, I do not own **_**Patriotism**_**; it was written decades ago by Yukio Mishima.**

In many countries, fast and efficient transportation is cherished as a luxury or a privilege. This is why larceny of any vehicle is regarded as a Class-A felony in most of these same countries.

In the United States and Japan, carjacking and grand theft auto are two of the most serious crimes a citizen can be charged with. Once the thief is apprehended, he or she could be sentenced with anything from a $10,000 fine to a life sentence in prison.

However, in the Program, one had to be quick and elusive in order to keep up with the competition. Thus, using any means necessary to acquire some form of transportation would not be regarded as a federal misdemeanor.

At this time, Osamu Sano (Boy #9) was taking advantage of this policy. He was currently in B-9, out on the streets of the apartment complex that ran along the eastern border of the city. He was kneeling in front of the door to a standard Toyota Highlander. The car appeared to be one based off the model from 2010. However, Osamu did not care about its age, appearance, or features. He was just hoping that it could still be driven.

Osamu had been given a very practical weapon: a large Swiss army knife. At this time, he was using two of the shorter blades at once in an attempt to pick the lock to the Highlander's driver door. He had a lot of experience with picking locks back in Fujisawa. Out of all six members of his gang, Toshirou Oosaki was the best locksmith. But Osamu made a very close second.

While none of the students in his class had a driver's license, Osamu and each of his friends had had some experience with operating a vehicle back home. They all knew how to hotwire cars as well, so getting the Highlander to start would be simple. The hard part was what he planned to do after starting the car. He wanted to use it to locate the other members of his group.

Osamu did not pick the Highlander simply because it was a convenient find or a good model; he wanted it because he knew it got great gas mileage and its engine was very quiet, almost like a soft humming sound. This car would allow him to get around the city without drawing too much attention to himself.

Of course, even with such an advanced model, finding his friends would be more than a little difficult to accomplish. If they were all together, it would be even more difficult. If all five of them were on their own, he would at least have a slim chance of encountering one of them after driving for a little while. But if they had already regrouped, he would have to search the entire city just to locate them.

Osamu took a moment to think about the present circumstances. Before this day, he used to make jokes about the Program. In fact, after the Program of the previous year had come to an end, he had casually remarked to Gakuto "It would really suck to be them, the poor buggers." Now that he was in the Program, he felt personally ashamed of saying those things. He knew he had yet to embrace the full horrors of the Program, but he could tell on his own that it would not end well. Even if he managed to survive, what then? How would he go on without the rest of his friends?

Despite being the boss of a gang in his class, Osamu was not a really a hostile person. He could actually be quite sympathetic and helpful to those closest to him. All his life, he had been a leader. While he preferred using some extreme means to assert his authority, he never mistreated his friends or took his anger out on them. Here in the Program, he was very concerned for their well-being. Osamu was beginning to regret not waiting around the entrance to the school until the rest of the class had left.

Kaminari and Toshirou had left the school long before him, but he still could have stayed behind and waited for Kazumitsu, Reika, and Gakuto. However, once he had discovered what he had received as his weapon, he decided to take his chances on his own and to get out of C-5 as soon as humanly possible. After all, a Swiss army knife would not be much use against any sort of firearm.

Osamu and his friends were not cruel by nature. When the group was founded, one thing they all agreed on was that they would never commit rape or murder, nor would they try kidnapping someone or steal anything worth more than 500,000 yen. However, whenever a rival gang gave them trouble, they were willing to resort to violent means to settle the dispute. In fact, one time the local Yakuza had ridiculed Osamu in person, claiming that he and his friends were just "Yakuza wannabes." Osamu and his friends paid these thugs a visit afterwards. Once their meeting was over, none of these Yakuza dared to set foot in Fujisawa again. Several of them could not even literally set foot in the city for a long time, as they had emerged from the meeting with their legs broken.

Osamu and his followers were very efficient in their work. Whenever they committed a crime, the six of them were always careful to cover their tracks and to not leave any evidence behind. Usually, if the police ever caught on, they would simply pin the blame on someone with a reputation of rebellious behavior to the government. The police back in Fujisawa never suspected Osamu's gang of any wrong. The police had mostly regarded them as "amateur criminals," as the group had never really committed a serious crime or one that was worthy of an extensive investigation.

Gakuto was the only one among them that had ever been arrested, but that is a story for another time.

As he worked on the car door, Osamu took a moment to think about his group. Just thinking about his friends made him finally slightly better. Alone, they all had certain skills that proved to be useful in everyday life. But when put together, the six of them made an outstanding team.

First there was Kaminari Ishida. She was the most resourceful of the group. Whenever the group needed supplies before implementing one of their plans, Kaminari would always be able to acquire the goods. She was a frequent customer on the black market and she had connections all over the Kanagawa Prefecture. Most people shopping on the black market had to let the sellers decided the prices of the merchandise they wanted, as well as the time and place for when it arrived. Not Kaminari; she was so influential in black market operations that all the sellers let **her **decide when and where her order would arrive, as well as set the maximum price she was willing to pay.

Next there was Toshirou Oosaki. He was the most cunning of the group. Anyone who got into an argument with him would end up losing it and – more often than not – publically humiliating themselves. Toshirou could also coax a confession or a secret out of anyone. He had various methods of extracting information from people which rarely – if ever – failed him. Whenever the group conducted a business dealing in the black market, Toshirou was the one who examined the bargain from every angle. He never neglected anything; sometimes he could discover useful information where others had overlooked it. This sort of information allowed the group to blackmail many powerful people in their city. They was never extremely demanding from the people they extorted; at most, they asked for 30 percent of their profits. Their earnings were attributed to Toshirou's wits.

Next there was Kazumitsu Hayashi. He was the muscle in the group. Every gang needs at least one large, strong, tough-as-nails person in it; the presence of such an individual is a display of strength. Kazumitsu easily covered that role. He was one of the biggest students in Class 3-A. He also played defense in his school's rugby team; it often took three whole players on the opposing team to get past him. Outside of school, Kazumitsu's strength proved to be even more useful. Whenever the group was doing business and their partners were not very cooperative, Kazumitsu was able to "persuade" them via intimidation to see things his way. One time, four Yakuza had jumped him while he was walking home by himself. A few hours later, all four of them were admitted to the city hospital to be treated for broken bones, severe lacerations, internal injuries, and second-degree burns. Kazumitsu told his friends later on "I was in a good mood, so I went easy on them." No one would dare take Kazumitsu on one-on-one; he was stronger than most grown men in Fujisawa.

Then there was Reika Fujihara. She was the beauty in the group. Everywhere she went, people where stunned by her appearance. Most of the other girls in Class 3-A were envious of her, as she had more secret admirers than any of them could hope for. Her fair façade proved to be a valuable advantage, as well. Whenever Kazumitsu's method of intimidation failed – which happened rarely – Reika would step in and make a few subtle moves with her curvaceous figure to get the other party to agree. Manipulation using the physical aspects of the body was one of Reika's strongest talents. Aside from this, whenever the group worked with other women, Reika would share her "secrets" for maximizing her complexion and her body. In actuality, she had to do very little to retain her radiant appearance. But she kept it a secret, as she felt sharing too much knowledge would be a fatal mistake on her part. Thus, if there was anyone who could use beauty as a skill, it was Reika.

Lastly, there was Gakuto Yamashita. He was the brains in the group. He and Osamu had actually formed the group together; they had been friends for years before they met the others. In fact, the gang was originally Gakuto's idea. Osamu knew that Gakuto could often come up with the best ideas. He was arguably the most intelligent person in Class 3-A. He never failed a class, never misread an assignment, never got lazy on his homework, and always studied thoroughly for an exam. He also had a talent for taking everyday household items and putting them together to make a gadget or something equally useful. Because of this, Blaine Rhodes often called him "the Japanese MacGyver."

At first glance, one would be inclined to think that Gakuto should have been the leader of the group. However, despite his brilliance, his leadership skills left much to be desired; he was not certain he could handle that kind of responsibility. That was where Osamu came in. Osamu was the oldest of four children. He was always being a role model to his younger siblings and helping them stay out of trouble. One could say that he was a natural at being a chief. A reasonable chief, no less. So he and Gakuto had agreed that Osamu would be the leader of the group. He proved to be a tough but fair boss. He treated his followers with respect and compassion, and in exchange for that, they never let him down.

Osamu kept whispering to himself "We'll get through this. I just know we will."

A minute later, he heard a slight *click* sound. Osamu smiled in satisfaction. Then he stood up, wrapped his hand around the car door handle, and pulled it forward. The door opened up without a hitch.

Osamu continued to smile and remarked "I guess I'll take this thing for a little spin. I'm certain the owner wouldn't mind if I 'borrowed' it."

Just before he could get inside the car, he felt a hand grasp his shoulder.

Osamu's initial reaction would have been to spin completely around and push whoever was behind him away. However, just a split-second before he did this, he stopped himself. The grip felt strangely familiar. It was firm, yet surprisingly delicate at the same time. The palms were smooth and a little cool to the touch; Osamu could actually feel the coolness through his uniform jacket and shirt.

It was then that Osamu realized who must have been behind him; only one person in Class 3-A had such a unique touch.

He slowly turned around and saw a tall girl standing in front of him. Her eyes were level with his chin. Her sailor suit was a little more revealing than those of most of the other girls in the class. Osamu could easily make out her face in the moonlight.

"Reika?" he said in controlled yet gleeful surprise.

"Glad to see you, Boss," Reika Fujihara (Girl #19) happily replied.

…

Mamoru Niwa looked down at the small bottle in his hands. It was made of a transparent orange plastic. Its shape was cylindrical. It was about six centimeters tall and three centimeters in diameter. It was a standard prescription bottle.

It was what was inside the container that interested Mamoru. Inside of it, there were dozens of small white pills. The label on the container was "Barbiturate." At first glance, one would not be likely to recognize this term. But Mamoru knew a surprisingly vast amount about medicine.

Mamoru had been around these bottles all his life, as his father was an apothecary. Whenever Mamoru came home from school, he would usually find his father organizing different orders of medication for his customers. Sometimes, his father needed someone to deliver the prescriptions for him. Most of the time Mamoru willingly handled this task, as most of his father's customers lived within twenty minutes' biking distance of their house.

His father also took the time to educate his son on several of the most popular medications, such as painkillers and multi-vitamins. Truthfully, Mamoru did not just pretend to be interested; he actually listened to everything his father told him, as he found it to be somewhat fascinating.

At this point, Mamoru was glad his father had given him those lectures. If not, he would have known nothing about the effects of Barbiturate.

What exactly did Mamoru plan to do with this medicine? Truthfully, he was not entirely certain he was even going to use it anyway. But he was confident that he would use it soon.

At this time, Mamoru was on the second floor in the private apartment he and Yasuko Oomori had entered about twenty minutes earlier.

He was sitting at a table in the kitchen, gazing down at the bottle of Barbiturate. While he sat in silent contemplation, Yasuko was in the middle of making some green tea. Presently, she was standing in front of a pot of water. While she waited for it to boil, she took some green tea leaves and mashed them to miniscule bits with a mortar and pestle.

She had found the raw tea leaves in the refrigerator; whoever owned this apartment beforehand knew a thing or two about proper preservation. Yasuko decided to go ahead and use the entire bag of tea leaves, as she planned to make a lot of tea, and she liked to make it strong.

She knew full well that she could have just boiled the water in an electric kettle and used teabags instead of raw leaves, but she preferred doing it the old-fashioned way.

Yasuko Oomori loved to make tea. Her mother actually owned a tea shop in Fujisawa. She wanted to each her everything of the trade so that her daughter could take over running the shop when she decided to retire. Yasuko sometimes joked about selling the shop and retiring while young, even though both she and her mother knew that she would never do that. The tea shop was the family business, after all; it would be an insult to previous generations to do away with tradition so dismissively.

Yasuko looked over at her boyfriend and told him "The water's almost boiling. Once it's ready, I'll need to let the tea leaves soak for about twenty minutes. Then all I have to do is strain it and we're good to go."

Mamoru looked over his shoulder and smiled at his girlfriend. "I'm certain it'll taste just as great as the first cup you ever made for me."

She just shrugged and remarked "I don't know about **that**. Given the current time and setting, I don't have that much to work with. But I'll do my best to appease."

Mamoru slowly nodded his head. Then he sighed and looked back down at the prescription bottle in his hand. Yasuko went back to work. When she was done mashing the tea leaves, she transferred them to a large glass bowl

A few minutes later, the water was boiling. Yasuko carefully removed it from the heat and poured it over the green tea leaves. She stirred the mixture with a wooden spoon a few times and then she put it off to the side. Lastly, she set the kitchen timer for twenty minutes.

Now all Yasuko could do was wait for the water to absorb the flavor and color of the tea leaves. There was no rushing this process; time was the most important factor in making tea.

Yasuko stepped away from the stove and approached the table. She pulled out a chair and sat down next to her boyfriend. It was then that she noticed his attention was focused on a small orange bottle.

"What is that?" she asked Mamoru, gesturing to the container in his hands.

"A bottle of Barbiturate tablets," he answered, slowly looking up at her, "My father tells me that they are very effective as sedatives. In small doses, of course. But in large doses… they have some very serious side effects. I'll get into that later."

"Where'd you find them?" asked Yasuko.

"In the bathroom," Mamoru replied, "I went there to wash my hands, seeing as they got covered in soot from climbing that fence. Just as I turned the water off, I noticed this bottle on top of the cabinet. I decided to take it, as it might help me execute my plan."

"Mamoru, what exactly **is **your plan?" inquired Yasuko, "I know it was my idea to discuss it over some green tea, but I'd prefer to start discussing it right now while the tea is brewing."

There was a short yet rather unpleasant silence between the two of them. Mamoru was not entirely certain how he would address his plan. But he had to bring it up all the same.

After pondering his options for a few minutes, he managed to think up an ideal way to explain his plan to Yasuko. He looked up at her and began with "Yasuko, do you remember last year; when we had to read that short story in Literature class?"

"Which one?" she asked, "We read lots of short stories in that class."

"The one I'm talking about is _Patriotism _by Yukio Mishima," Mamoru clarified.

"You mean the one about the military man and his wife who commit suicide?" said Yasuko.

"Yes, that's the one," confirmed Mamoru.

"Well, what about it?" said Yasuko.

"I was just thinking about the story's entire concept and the ethical struggle the lieutenant and his wife undergo," Mamrou elucidated, "In a way, I think it kind of relates to you and me."

"How so?" asked Yasuko.

Mamoru began explaining his analogy "Think about it like this: in the story, Lieutenant Shinji Takeyama is ordered by his superiors to lead a battalion of Imperial Troops whose orders are to hunt down and eliminate other Imperial Troops who were working with the mutineers of the February 26 Incident. Most of the dissident Imperial Troops happened to be some of the Lieutenant's closest colleagues. Just a few hours ago, our new 'teacher' told us that we must kill our own friends if we ever want to walk out of the Program alive. You see a connection?"

After thinking about this for a moment, Yasuko realized that Mamoru was making a valid point.

"There's even more correlations than that," Mamoru went on, "The Lieutenant and his wife both decided to have one last drink together before they died. Right now, we've got some green tea brewing on the counter. It may very well be the last thing we ever drink."

"That is true," Yasuko agreed, "But Mamoru, what exactly are you getting at? I have an idea or two, but please clarify a few things for me."

Mamoru sighed and nodded his head. He looked his girlfriend in the eye and said "Yasuko, I want to ask you a very personal question."

"Of course; ask me anything you want," stated Yasuko.

Mamoru kept his eyes focused on Yasuko's; he never broke eye contact for a second over the next minute. He asked her "Do you actually think you could bring yourself to kill **anyone **in our class?"

Yasuko did not answer him immediately. She just sat thinking carefully about the question. She took a moment to think about all of their classmates. There were a few that she did not get along with, but none that she especially hated.

After about a minute, she solemnly shook her head and said "No, Mamoru; I don't think I could do it."

"Nor could I," stated Mamoru, "If we wanted to get out of this game alive, we would have to play it to win. At some point or other, we'd have to defend ourselves. But in order to do that, we'd have to kill our friends. That's a price I'm not willing to pay."

"If one of us killed Blaine, there's a chance we would both make it out of here alive," Yasuko pointed out, "But I wouldn't be the one to deliver the killing blow; I don't think I could even harm him."

"I'm glad to hear you say that," remarked Mamoru, "Killing Blaine is out of the question. In fact, it's partially thanks to him that you and I are still together."

"Really?" said Yasuko, raising an eyebrow in interest, "How so?"

"Well, you remember a few months ago, near the beginning of the school year, when we were considering breaking up?" said Mamoru.

"As much as I'd like to forget about that, I do remember," Yasuko replied, "I recall that you were always busy with something back then; so busy that most of the time you were unable to find time for me. That was what was wrong with our relationship back then."

"Well, you see, Blaine was the one who helped me prioritize my schedule so that I could organize my time more efficiently," Mamoru enlightened her, "It's because of him that our relationship was saved."

"Then we **can't **kill him," Yasuko decided, "We owe him that much."

Mamoru took his hand and placed it on Yasuko's. He kept looking her in the eye and told her "Yasuko, you know I love you."

"Of course I know that," she remarked, "I love you too, Mamoru."

"Then there's something I must ask you," he stated sternly, "If I decided to take my life just as Lieutenant Shinji Takeyama did in _Patriotism_, what would you do?"

After just a few seconds, Yasuko answered him with "If we were anywhere else, I would try to talk you out of it. But now that we're here in the Program, things are much different. Given the circumstances, I would do what Lieutenant Takeyama's wife Reiko did; I would willingly die alongside you."

A wide yet somewhat apologetic smile crept across Mamoru's face. He got out of his chair and embraced Yasuko lovingly. He held her for a long time, savoring her presence. Yasuko felt so relaxed and at ease that she did not want Mamoru to let her go.

A minute later, the timer went off. Yasuko reluctantly pulled away from Mamoru and told him "Looks like the tea's ready. I just need to strain out the leaves and then we can have a drink."

"Alright, sounds fine to me," said Mamoru. He reached down and picked up his backpack and supply pack. His Walther P88 was still tucked into his belt. He began walking to the door which extended out to the main hallway in the apartment. Just before he stepped through, he turned to Yasuko and said "You told me you put your supply pack and backpack in the bedroom, right?"

"That's correct," she answered, looking up from her work.

"When you're done, I want you to bring the tea there," Mamoru instructed her, "There's something else I want to discuss."

"You got it," she agreed. Mamoru then turned and left the kitchen, leaving Yasuko by herself.

She found a sieve in a drawer and placed it on top of a large glass pitcher. Then she carefully picked up the glass bowl containing the tea leaves and water and emptied the contents into the sieve. Most of the liquid went through the sieve while the solids were caught by the strainer. Yasuko was not finished yet, though. She took a ladle and pressed the bottom of it against the soaked leaves, allowing for a great deal more liquid to be extracted from the solids. The strongest flavor was in that liquid, which was why Yasuko wanted to include it.

Once she was finished, she placed the pitcher on a wooden tray, along with two tall glasses she found in the cupboard and two mixing spoons from the silverware drawer. Then she placed a bowl of sugar with a teaspoon from the pantry and a lemon from the refrigerator onto the tray.

Yasuko had placed her can of bear mace on the counter. She picked it up and set it down on the tray. That was the last thing she placed on the tray before she left the room. She wanted to have her weapon on hand at all times, even if she was simply moving from one room to another.

Yasuko crossed over into the hallway and walked for about ten meters until she came to a door with light emanating from it. This was the bedroom. Yasuko had placed her backpack and supply pack there when she first arrived in D-1. Like Mamoru, she had climbed the fence in order to get into the private apartment complex. Once she was inside, she had decided to enter the first building that was unlocked. She was more than satisfied with what the apartment had to offer. Evidently, the previous occupants had not made a mess of the place when they were forced to evacuate.

The master bedroom was probably the largest room in the whole of the apartment. There was a king-sized bed with a nightstand on either side of it. There was also a large wardrobe next to a closet. There were two windows on the empty wall. Both of them had their blinds drawn.

Mamoru was sitting at the left side of the bed. His supply pack and his backpack were at his feet. His backpack was opened at this time. He had taken something out of it a minute earlier; he was holding it in his hands. His back was turned to the door, so Yasuko could not see what her boyfriend was holding in his hands when she entered the room.

"Mamoru?" she said softly, "I've got the tea."

"Just put it down on the other nightstand," he instructed her, "We'll have our drink in a bit."

"You got it," she replied, "The tea is still a little too hot right now anyway."

Yasuko placed the tray on the nightstand at the right side of the bed. Then she kicked off her shoes and got onto the bed. She crawled a little until she was right behind Mamoru. She curiously asked him "What have you got there?"

He looked over his shoulder and asked her "You promise not to laugh if I show you?"

"Sure," she agreed immediately.

Mamoru turned around slightly and showed his girlfriend what he was holding. It was a small box of condoms.

Yasuko was stunned. "Why do you have those?"

"My mother told me that a bunch of her friends lost their virginity on her class trip," Mamoru enlightened her, "She knows that our relationship is platonic, but she wanted me to take these along just in case anything happened between us. I know that must sound incredibly stupid to you."

Yasuko did not reply for a moment. Then she smiled at her boyfriend and told him "I know the feeling."

After that, she turned to her backpack (which was on the floor by the right side of the bed with her supply pack), picked it up, opened the front pocket, and took out a small bottle. She held it out to Mamoru so that he could get a better look at it. Once he did, he raised an eyebrow in amusement as he read the label. He scoffed and said "Birth control pills?"

"My father witnessed the same thing on his class trip, too," Yasuko informed him, "He refused to let me go on the trip until I agreed to bring these. I know exactly how you must feel."

"That seems to be one thing you and I have in common," Mamoru noted, "We both have overprotective parents."

"That is true," agreed Yasuko, "What I find ironic is that the thing they were most concerned about was the possibility that we would end up sleeping together on the trip. I doubt any of them thought for a moment we would end up **here**."

"It's the last thing **I **would have expected," stated Mamoru.

There was a short interval of silence. Mamoru broke it when he said "I know that you and I both agreed to wait until we were in a committed relationship to go all the way, but… well… now that we're here..."

"I think I know where this is going," Yasuko interrupted him, "Mamoru, are you suggesting that we go ahead and… do the deed right here?"

His response was "Well, I just recalled that in _Patriotism_, the last thing Lieutenant Takeyama did before killing himself was make love to his wife."

"Yeah, that's probably the one part that most people remember after reading the short story," Yasuko commented, "The love scene between the Lieutenant and his wife had a remarkably vivid description to it. Even more vivid than the description of their deaths."

"That is true," Mamoru commented.

Once more there was silence. A deep, long, somewhat uncomfortable silence between the two students. Only their eyes spoke in all that time.

Finally, Mamoru asked her "Well, would you… like to…"

Yasuko just raised her hand to his mouth and pressed her index finger against his lips, gesturing for him to be quiet.

She slowly nodded her head and told him "I read somewhere that a man and a woman do not truly know each other until the first time they make love. I would love to 'know you' and for you to 'know me' before we die. I want you to know just how much I really love you."

Mamoru smiled, placed his hand on the back of Yasuko's head, and kissed her fully on the lips. When they came apart, he told her "I want you to know how much I love you, too. But given the present scenario, what say we go ahead and do it the old-fashioned way? No protection of any sort."

Yasuko nodded her head and tossed her birth control pills aside. A moment later, Mamoru threw his box of condoms away. Then he took his Walther P88 out of his belt and set it onto the night stand at the left side of the bed.

When he turned back to Yasuko. She was already lying against the pillows at the bed. She had a rather seductive smile on her face. She reached down to the hems of her skirt and pulled it up to her waist. She gave Mamoru a nice view of her panties.

"Tell you what," she remarked deviously, "You help me out of my sailor suit, and I'll help you out of your uniform."

Mamoru nodded his head eagerly. For the moment, both he and Yasuko put the worries of the Program out of their minds and kept their focus solely on each other. Mamoru carefully lowered himself onto Yasuko and kissed her affectionately on the lips. He felt her hands reach for his belt. She graciously unfastened the buckle and slid the leather strap out. At the same time, Mamoru went to work unbuttoning Yasuko's jacket.

As they continued undressing each other, they tossed their clothes off to the side. It was not long until Mamoru's boxers and Yasuko's panties were on the floor.

…

Yuuga Suzuki (Boy #11) had already searched through all of F-5. At the moment, he was making his way through F-7. This was one of the more industrious parts of the city.

About fifteen minutes earlier, he had passed through F-6. City Hall was located in the center of F-6. Yuuga had decided against going through that building. But he had marked it as a potential hiding spot. After all, it was one of the largest buildings in the whole of the city, and from the top floor, he could see for miles in every direction.

In the past hour, Yuuga had not developed much of a plan. For the moment, he simply wanted to stay alive and to locate people he could trust. This was where his ability to read faces would prove to be extremely useful. All he would have to do was look at someone and he could predict their actions.

He kept a stable grip on his Beretta 98, ready to draw it at any time. He had never fired a gun before, but he had a sharp eye. He was hopeful that if he was forced to use the gun that his aim would not fail him. Then again, he was most hopeful that he would not have to use his gun at all.

As he walked, Yuuga felt himself getting a little tired. His eyelids were getting heavy and the combined weight of his backpack and supply pack was starting to firmly set in. He knew he would have to rest at some point, but he was going to wait until dawn to recuperate.

Presently, he was focused on searching the city. He was looking for the one person he was certain he could trust in the whole of his class.

This person happened to be his best and closest friend, Yuriye Sakaguchi (Girl #9).

Yuriye was well-known by her classmates for being so delicate and careful in everything she did. She never allowed herself to make any mistakes. And even when she did make a mistake, she always made certain she corrected it. She was meticulous, yet very supportive of all her friends.

Yuuga liked her for many reasons. But the main reason was this: whenever he was in trouble or distressed, he knew he could always turn to her.

Most of the time, Yuuga was the one that anyone in Class 3-A looked to whenever they needed consoling. His exceptionally empathic mind had helped him develop an excellent sense of sound judgment. He was always giving out free advice to whoever needed it.

However, even Yuuga went through periods of stress and tension. But what happens when the counselor needs comforting?

That was where Yuriye came in. She and Yuuga had always enjoyed each other's company. What primarily brought them together were their gifts for empathy and organization. Whenever Yuuga was under emotional or physical stress, Yuriye would talk to him. She always said the right things; she could always help Yuuga get over his problems.

She was also much more outgoing than Yuuga. She was on the cheerleading squad, and she was a member of a clique composed of herself and three other girls in Class 3-A: Chiaki Iwasaki (Girl #4), Shizuye Chida (Girl #14), and Tomoe Yamakawa (Girl #21). Sometimes, whenever Yuuga spent time with Yuriye, he spent time with the three of them as well. They assured the empathic boy that any friend of Yuriye's was a friend of theirs as well.

Near the end of eighth grade, someone had started a rumor that Yuriye and Yuuga were actually a couple. Both of them perpetually denied these accusations and insisted that they were just friends, albeit best friends.

Yuuga hoped that Yuriye had already met up with at least one of the other girls in her clique. Chiaki, Shizuye, and Tomoe all struck him as trustworthy; he was certain that Yuriye could rely on them, even in the Program.

"I'll find her," he told himself quietly, "And when I do, I'll protect her from harm. I know we'll find a way out of this."

Yuuga truly was confident that there would be a way out of the current situation. He knew that such a thing was very unlikely, given how almost every single escape attempt in the Program had resulted in failure. All the same, Yuuga was not going to give up hope. He marched solemnly on through F-7.

A moment later, he heard a soft groan, like someone was in pain. That snapped Yuuga to attention. He took his Beretta 98 and held it in both hands. He speedily looked all over the vicinity, trying to pinpoint the source of the noise.

After gazing around the area, Yuuga spotted a silhouette in the moonlight. A figure was approaching him slowly. However, the figure appeared to be staggering, as if off-balance.

After squinting his eyes in the darkness to focus his sight, he was able to determine that the figure was wearing a sailor suit. It was a girl. She was about average height for her age, and her hair ran past her shoulders.

She did not appear to notice him. Yuuga took advantage of this to approach her slowly. He kept his gun at the ready, just in case the girl turned on him.

After getting close enough, he decided to break the silence. He called out "Who's there?"

This startled the girl. She stopped groaning and looked up. She was griping a revolver in her right hand. She also appeared to be holding her thigh, as if it burdened her. Yuuga managed to get a good look at her face.

"Kiyomi?" he whispered.

"Hello, Yuuga," answered Kiyomi Takayama (Girl #12) softly. She calmed down a little when she realized it was him. However, Yuuga noticed that she was wounded; that was why she was holding her side. She remarked desperately "Please tell me you're not playing. I can't stand another encounter."

This caught Yuuga's attention. "What do you mean 'another encounter'?"

"I ran into Ichiko about an hour ago," Kiyomi explained, "She tried to kill me. I just barely managed to escape."

"Ichiko is playing?" said Yuuga, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, I'm afraid," replied Kiyomi, "And I believe you mean 'was.' She 'was' playing."

"What do you mean by that?" he queried.

"She's… she's dead," she confessed, "I had to kill her before she killed me. But I swear, Yuuga, I didn't mean to harm her! It was an accident! I would have just wounded her if I had the opportunity! Please, believe me!"

Yuuga saw the despair and regret in Kiyomi's eyes. Thanks to his ability to read faces, he could easily determine that she was telling the truth. She did indeed kill Ichiko, but she was overcome with guilt for it. He raised his hand to gesture for silence. Then he told her "I believe you, Kiyomi. And I assure you, I'm not playing."

"Oh, thank goodness," Kiyomi muttered in relief. A moment later, she collapsed onto her knees. Yuuga immediately ran to her side and bent next to her.

"Are you alright?" he asked in concern.

"I… I think so," she replied hesitantly. She held up her revolver and told him "This wasn't my weapon to begin with; it was Ichiko's. She shot me once in the thigh before I… turned the tables on her. It think it's only a flesh wound, but it still hurts like hell."

"Let me take a look," Yuuga requested. Kiyomi allowed him to examine her injury. After a few seconds, he told her "You should be alright. But I think it would be best if we bandaged your injury as soon as possible. The last thing you want is an infection."

"I'll take your word for it," Kiyomi remarked. Yuuga slid his Beretta 98 into his belt and helped Kiyomi stand up. He put her left arm around his shoulders and held onto her left wrist tightly. She told him "Thank you for the help, but I can still walk just fine on my own."

"I know you can; I'm just taking some precautions," he assured her, "You don't want to put too much weight on your left side until we get it cleaned. The wound might open up even more than it already has."

"Okay," Kiyomi agreed. Yuuga began leading her down the road. They were heading to the west, back towards F-5. Yuuga had seen a hospital in that square the second time he passed through it. Kiyomi's wound did not require serious medical attention, but the hospital was the only place in the city where Yuuga was certain he could find as much as a first aid kit.

As he walked, he kept whispering things to Kiyomi to make certain she stayed conscious. He told her "Just hang in there. I won't let you die."

This was the truth; he would not let any of his friends die. Not while he could still do something to help them.

…

Mamoru Niwa and Yasuko Oomori had known each other since the start of seventh grade. Their first meeting had taken place just a week earlier. They had met entirely by coincidence.

On this particular day, Mamoru's father had asked him to deliver an order of pseudoephedrine. The delivery address happened to be in the middle of the city. Mamoru found this to be rather peculiar; not many people lived in the center of the city. But he did not question his father's orders. He was able to cover the distance in less than fifteen minutes on his bike.

When he got there, he was surprised to discover that the address belonged to a tea shop. Most people did not arrange to pick up their prescription drugs at work very often. Most of the time they either had them delivered to their homes or they simply picked them up at Mamoru's father's pharmacy.

Not that it mattered that much to Mamoru; he was determined to complete the delivery regardless of where the drop-off was scheduled. After locking his bike to a rack, he had gone inside the tea shop without a hitch.

It was near closing time when Mamoru arrived. There was no one there except for a girl standing at the counter. When Mamoru entered, she looked up and smiled at him warmly, greeting him with "Welcome to the Oomori Family Tea Shop. Can I interest you in a nice black tea?"

This was Yasuko. Even at age twelve, her father had instructed her on how to properly introduce the customers and make them feel welcome. She followed his instructions down to the last detail.

Mamoru had just smiled and held up the delivery bag, telling her "No, thank you; I'm just here to drop off an order of pseudoephedrine. My father told me that the person who placed the order wanted it delivered here."

"Ah, yes; my mother has been waiting for that," Yasuko replied. She held out her hand and told Mamoru "She's not here at the moment, so I'll take it."

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I can't just leave it with you," Mamoru told her, "My father has a strict policy that everyone who picks up the prescription must be at least twenty-one years of age. I also have a form that one of your parents will have to sign in order to confirm the order was delivered."

"Alright, that sounds reasonable," Yasuko agreed, leaning back in her chair, "Just pull up a chair and hang around; my mother will be back soon."

Mamoru had nowhere important to be for several hours, so he agreed to wait around.

He only had to wait a total of twelve minutes for Yasuko's mother. But a lot happened in those twelve minutes.

The first three minutes were spent in silence. In the fourth minute, Yasuko decided to start up a conversation in order to pass the time. Mamoru was a little hesitant to join in at first, but ultimately he decided to go ahead and talk.

In the last eight minutes of his wait, Mamoru had found out a great deal about Yasuko and vice versa. They found various topics to discuss, such as their interests in cinema, fashion, and the most recent innovations in culture. They were also pleased to discover that they would both be attending Keio Shonan-Fujisawa Junior High School.

When Yasuko's mother finally arrived, Mamoru got her to fill out the paperwork and completed the business transaction. He bid Yasuko a fond farewell and that he looked forward to seeing her in school.

Overtime, the two of them had gotten more and more involved with each other. About a third of the way into seventh grade, Mamoru built up the courage to ask Yasuko to go on a date with him. She happily accepted the offer. Near the end of that same year, they were officially in a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship.

In the two years between that day and the present, their relationship had had its ups and downs. But they were certain about one thing: They loved each other, and this type of love could not be broken easily.

At this time, they were both entwined in each other's arms. They were lying naked under the covers of the king-sized bed of the apartment they had entered in D-1.

Their first meeting had been about twelve minutes long. Their first sexual experience with each other lasted twice as long. It was infinitely more pleasurable to them, as well. They were left sweating and breathing heavily in ecstasy from the heat of the moment.

"That… was amazing, Mamoru," Yasuko whispered softly.

He smiled at her and said "Yasuko, I think 'amazing' doesn't even come close to describing it. That was pure bliss."

She nodded her head vigorously, even though she was still trying hard to catch her breath. Once she did catch it, she looked up at Mamoru and asked him "So… what happens now? What did Lieutenant Takeyama and his wife do right after they made love?"

Once Mamoru caught his breath, he told her "They had their drink of sake. Then the Lieutenant took his sword and committed seppuku. Once he was dead, his wife took the knife her mother gave her before their wedding and cut her own throat."

Yasuko winced slightly, but the look quickly faded. Evidently, she was still overcome with excitement from the events of the previous half-hour.

"I don't think we have any swords or knives," she pointed out, "Aside from that, I don't think I'd want to bleed that much before I die."

"I understand that," remarked Mamoru, "I don't want to go that way either. That's why I plan for us to die peacefully and in our sleep. That's where the Barbiturate comes in."

Mamoru turned to the night stand on his side of the bed, reached out for the prescription bottle with the Barbiturate tablets, grabbed it in his right hand, and brought it over.

"My father told me about these little beauties a few months ago," he told his girlfriend, "They're normally used as sedatives. But only if you take half a gram of them at a time. One gram is enough to cause a seizure. Ten grams leads to unconsciousness and – in most cases – certain death. And fortunately for us, they're water-soluble. If we put them in the green tea, they'll dissolve quickly and thoroughly."

Yasuko took in everything Mamoru told her. She liked his plan; everything about it seemed to have so much thought put into it. Even though it was a suicide plan, she had to admire all the connection it had to Yukio Mishima's _Patriotism_.

Mamoru looked down at Yasuko and told her "This is your last opportunity to back out, Yasuko. I won't force you to take these tablets. If you want to take your chances out there, go ahead."

Yasuko almost looked taken aback. But she knew that Mamoru was only saying those things to reassure her that this was her choice, not his. She simply told him "I would rather die here with you than live a life of guilt and shame."

He smiled down at her and kissed her on the lips. That was all the assurance he needed from her. He stated "In that case, go ahead and pour the tea."

Yasuko sat up slightly and reached for the tray. She took the pitcher of green tea and filled both the glasses to about three-quarters capacity. She then added a squeeze of lemon and a couple teaspoons of sugar to both glasses. Then she picked up one glass in either hand, along with both of the mixing spoons. She held out the glasses to Mamoru.

Once the glasses were in front of him, Mamoru slowly unscrewed the lid off of the prescription bottle. He then poured half of the Barbiturate tablets into his glass and the other half into Yasuko's glass. Once the bottle was empty, he screwed the lid back on and placed it on the night stand. Then he took his glass and mixing spoon.

The tablets had already started to dissolve. Mamoru used his mixing spoon to speed up the dissolution process. Yasuko did the same thing with her glass. After about two minutes of stirring furiously, all the tablets had dissolved. There was no indication that there anything in the glasses other than green tea.

The two of them sat in silence for a bit. Mamoru knew that the effects of the Barbiturates would not be instantaneous, but they would be very quick. After all, ten grams of it was enough to kill a person. There had to be at least thirty grams of it split between him and Yasuko.

"Here's to us," Mamoru spoke softly as he raised his glass to Yasuko.

"To us," she replied, clinking her glass against his.

The two of them closed their eyes, brought their glasses up to their lips, and tilted their glasses upwards. In one swift motion, they both emptied the contents of their glasses into their mouths. They made sure to swallow down every last drop, even though the Barbiturate made the green tea taste horrendous.

Once they were finished with their glasses, they both started feeling very light-headed. They had just enough coordination left to place their glasses back on the nightstands.

Immediately after setting their glasses aside, the Barbiturates started taking effect. Mamoru took Yasuko in his arms and held her close. She looked up at him and asked slowly "How… how will we know… when… when it's coming?"

"The first sign is incoordination," he told her, "I'd say we're already there. The second sign is drowsiness. We're definitely past that. The-the… th-third is… d-d-difficulty in sp-sp-speech. I'm t-t-there. Next there's… difficulty in… th-th-thinking. Then there's… I don't remember… let me think."

Mamoru tried to remember what exactly his father told him about the effects of Barbiturate overdose. A few minutes earlier, he knew them by heart; now he could barely even recall the first three.

However, he could tell on his own that he did not have much time left. He was overcome with lethargy and he barely had enough strength left to sit up straight. Soon enough, he would enter a state of unconsciousness, which was very different from normal REM sleep.

Mamoru looked down and saw that Yasuko was already leaning against her pillow with her eyes shut tight.

"No f-f-fair g-getting a head st-start," he remarked humorously, using what strength he had left to place his arm around his girlfriend. He pulled himself closer to her and whispered into her ear "I'll c-c-catch up to you s-s-soon. I p-p-promise."

Then he gently kissed her on the lips. Immediately after, he closed his eyes and set his head down next to Yasuko's.

Mamoru and Yasuko had managed to find the one possible way to escape the Program: through their dreams. Only through a peaceful sleep could the two of them get away from all the violence and terror. They did indeed enter a deep, restful slumber; a slumber so great that they never woke up from it. Because less than fifteen minutes later, they were neither awake nor sleeping. They were not even breathing. They had left the game.

**Girl #6 Yasuko Oomori – Dead**

**Boy #15 Mamoru Niwa – Dead**

**39 Students Remaining**


	11. Facing The Challenge

**Note: Happy holidays, everyone! Hope you're all having a great time! Sorry for the relatively short chapter; I just wanted to update today and this was all I had so far. This chapter mostly focuses on character development instead of the events of the Program. The next chapter will pick up the pace, I promise!**

Osamu Sano (Boy #9) was overcome with many mixed emotions. He was surprised, shocked, amazed, and profoundly overjoyed to discover that Reika Fujihara (Girl #19) had found him. He almost doubted his luck for a few moments; he felt he needed to assure himself that she was real.

"Reika?" he uttered quietly, "Is it really you? I'm not hallucinating, am I?"

Reika just scoffed and placed her hand on his shoulder. After a moment of resting it there, she told him "If I was a hallucination, Boss, would you be able to feel my hand? Hell, would I even be acknowledging my own existence if I was just a figment of your imagination? I don't think so. So I'm pretty certain I'm the real deal."

That was all the reassurance Osamu needed; Reika had a habit of speaking in riddles or proverbs quite often. Along with her salient beauty, that was one of her most discernible facets. Osamu was convinced right then and there that he was facing the real Reika Fujihara.

While Osamu felt slightly at ease, he knew he would have to put aside his delight for the moment; there were a few things he needed to address with Reika first. For starters, the other members in their gang needed to be located. Maybe Reika had already encountered one of them.

"Have you by any chance seen Gakuto or any of the others?" he inquired.

She smiled and replied "As a matter of fact, I have. All five of us have already gathered a couple miles southwest of here. We set up base at a public bar."

That was the last thing Osamu expected to hear. He was certain that his friends were spread out all over the city. But they were already assembled elsewhere in town? Things were really starting to look up for Osamu. When Reika saw the expression of surprise on his face, she scoffed again and stated "You heard me right, Boss. All of us were lost, and now we're found."

"Then… then why are you out here?" queried Osamu.

"Because Gakuto wanted to find you before he started discussing plans," Reika explained. She held up her Steyr M1912 Machine Pistol and told him "He thought it best that we take turns looking for you. Out of the five of us, I received the best weapon for fighting in the streets. So Gakuto decided that I should go first. I was actually supposed to check in about fifteen minutes ago. I'm glad I decided to keep looking for you; otherwise the search would have lasted for quite a while. Now that you're safe, we can all get to work on survival."

Osamu was speechless; absolutely speechless. He felt as though he had just been dealt an overwhelming amount of luck.

Normally, Osamu did not do anything impulsive. He was known by his friends and his family to be a very controlled, disciplined, and strong-willed character. Nothing he did was spontaneous or unpredictable in the slightest; he always exhibited a consistently strong and authoritative demeanor in front of his peers.

However, under certain conditions, every human being can exhibit signs of irregular behavior. Even the rigid Osamu Sano.

Ever since he woke up in that classroom a few hours earlier, a part of him was convinced that he would soon be dead. And even if he did not die, he was more than certain that he would be alone for a good long while. He thought he would have had to search the entire city before he managed to find even one of his five closest friends. The possibility that one or more of them would die before he found them had occurred to him several times as well. As a result, he had gradually become more and more convinced that his situation was completely hopeless.

But now, luck was quickly turning in his favor. His friends had already regrouped, they had been so concerned for his well-being that they were risking their own lives to locate him, and Gakuto was already formulating some plans for survival.

This sudden wonderful twist of fate was enough to make him want to break into dance or song. However, he did not dance or sing. But his actual reaction to Reika's news was just as impulsive. He was just so happy that he felt like sharing his happiness with someone. And he did indeed share it, but in a most unexpected manner.

Without any sort of warning, Osamu placed his hands on Reika's cheeks, pulled her closer to him, and kissed her full on the lips. This kiss was not just a simple, casual peck; he kissed her with a fierce tenacity as if she was his lover. He kept his lips locked with hers for approximately thirty seconds.

In all that time, Reika was virtually frozen with shock. She knew that Osamu would be pleased to know about their friends' safety and whereabouts, but she had no idea that he would be **this **pleased.

If he was any other man, she would have instinctively pushed him away before the kiss could last even five seconds. However, she could not bring herself to reject Osamu, even though it may have been very inappropriate when considering the situation. After all, he was her Boss, and she had been taking orders from him for years before this day. But in all the time she knew him, she had never seen him demonstrate such affectionate behavior. All the same, what could she do but go along with what he was doing?

Eventually, Osamu did pull away from Reika and looked her in the eyes. There was still a modicum of sentiment in his irises, but the rest of his eyes conveyed feelings of perplexity and alarm. Reika could see that only at this time was Osamu starting to realize what exactly he had just done.

There was a long, awkward silence between the two of them. Once it was over, Osamu nervously looked away and commented "Umm… I'm sorry about that, Reika… I don't know why I did that…"

"It's… it's alright, Osamu," she told him, even though she was still stunned by what just happened.

They stood there for a long while, neither of them knowing what to say. They were both waiting for each other to speak first.

After about a minute, Osamu stated "So… Gakuto and the others are hiding out at a bar?"

Reika was glad he had changed the subject. She nodded her head and replied with "Yes, that's where we should go now. I searched all over this area, so I don't remember the exact route back. But we can pinpoint its exact location on the map of the city."

"Excellent," commented Osamu. The Toyota Highlander's driver door was still partially open. Osamu took the door handle and pulled it off all the way. Then he held out his arm to Reika and said "Ladies first."

Reika raised an eyebrow in interest and stated "Are you sure that taking a car around the city is a good idea?"

"Oh yeah, you can trust me," Osamu assured her, "This model is fast, quiet, and efficient. As long as I keep the headlights off, no one would ever know we were passing by. Not unless they had the hearing of a lion or the eyes of a hawk."

Reika merely shrugged and said "Alright, then. In that case, I'll take your word for it."

She climbed inside the Highlander and scooted over to the left side so that she was in the passenger seat. Osamu climbed in after her and shut the door. Once he was inside, he turned on the overhead light and examined the steering wheel. Using a larger blade on his Swiss army knife, he cut away a small part underneath the pivot mechanism and pulled out a few wires. After sorting out the proper wires, he connected them together. Once he saw a spark ignite between them, he tied them together by the ends. A moment later, Osamu could hear the engine start up.

"Nice work, Boss," Reika praised him.

"Oh, that's the easy part," he responded, putting away his Swiss army knife. Then he turned off the overhead light and gripped the steering wheel with both hands. He told Reika "The hard part will be driving in the dark without turn signals, headlights, or going above a speed of 20 miles per hour. Any faster than that, and the engine would get too noisy. To top it all off, I don't even have a license."

"Well, that's never stopped you before," Reika slyly pointed out.

Osamu smirked and nodded his head, saying "That's certainly true. Do you have the map?"

"Right here," answered Reika, holding up her map. She had gotten it out of her supply pack when Osamu was busying hotwiring the car. She held it close to her face, as it was still very dark outside. But there was just enough moonlight for her to back out all the outlines on the map. She announced to Osamu "According to this, we're near the northern border of B-9. The pub we gathered at is located in the southeast corner of D-7. We'll need to travel two squares south and two more to the west."

"Can you sort out the most direct path?" asked Osamu

"Momentarily," she replied. Reika closely studied the map for about a minute. Then she told him "I know we're facing north right now. Go ahead and turn the car around."

Osamu nodded and applied gentle pressure to the gas pedal. As he pulled out into the street, he made a complete U-turn so that they were facing the south.

"Alright," said Reika, her eyes still on her map, "Now, go all the way to the end of the road and take a left."

"A left?" remarked Osamu, "But that would take us to the east. D-7 is west of here."

"I know, Boss," stated Reika, "But you wanted the most direct path. Just trust me; this is faster."

Osamu decided it was best not to argue; Reika obviously knew what she was doing. He began driving the car down the road, making certain that the speedometer never went over 20 miles per hour.

As Reika gave him directions, Osamu found that his mind was not entirely focused on the road. He was still thinking about what had happened between him and Reika just a few minutes earlier.

After a little while, Osamu said "Reika? About what I did before we got into the car… I honestly don't know what came over me, I hope I didn't make you feel-"

"Boss, forget about it," Reika interrupted him, as she wanted to keep her attention focused on the map, "We can talk about it later."

Osamu sighed and agreed to put the issue aside for the moment. It would be sunrise soon, and he wanted to meet up with the others before the car's cover was blown. So he drove on in silence and let Reika direct him to the others.

…

Gakuto Yamashita (Boy #21) did not normally worry about anything. Mostly because there were few things he actually thought were worth worrying about. His everyday life was His academic grades were higher than those of most of his classmates', he was as healthy as a horse, and his family was financially and socially successful. Even when carrying out criminal activities with his friends, he did not worry about a single thing; his group's enterprises were conducted with refinement and diligence. They were never caught, and no one ever messed with them.

All the same, it would be foolish to think that nothing could disturb Gakuto. Whenever his friends were endangered, Gakuto **did** worry for them. And how much more dangerous than the Program could it get for a ninth-grade student?

At this time, it was approximately 4:35. Reika had agreed to be back by 4:15. It was not in her nature to be late for anything, even an appointment with her therapist. Gakuto began pondering the various reasons as to why Reika was not back yet. It was possible that she had either lost track of time, she had decided to extend her search a little further, or she had misjudged the distance she put between herself and the bar.

It was also possible that she had a run-in with someone besides Osamu. Someone who was playing the game. The thought of that compelled Gakuto to fear for the worst. Maybe Reika was badly wounded somewhere in the city. Maybe she was lost in its vastness. Maybe she was not even coming back at all.

All of these possibilities occurred to Gakuto. The thought of any one of them being the truth – especially the last one – made him feel profusely uncomfortable. He was actually beginning to doubt the rationality of his plan to find Osamu.

Consequentially, he was also becoming very, **very **worried for Reika.

"Where the hell **is **she?" he breathed out in frustration, glancing at his watch to confirm the time. "She should have checked in by now."

"Maybe she got lost," theorized Toshirou, looking up from his empty shot glass. He had not even touched the bottle of vodka since Reika had left. He wanted to remain sober when she got back so that he would be able to take up the next search without being intoxicated.

The bar had not changed much in terms of setting since Reika left. Toshirou was still sitting at the same table in the center of the barroom, Kaminari was still seated at the counter, and Gakuto was leaning against the wall next to the front door.

The only notable difference was that Kazumitsu had moved further into the room. He was in the midst of pacing back and forth between the tables and tapping the body of the gun to his flamethrower against his left hand. He really hoped he would not have to use his flamethrower anytime soon, but he knew he would have no choice if the group encountered any trouble. Even though this thought kept occurring to him, this was not the main focus on his mind. Like the others, he was mostly just waiting for Reika to return. Hopefully with Osamu.

"Lost?" remarked Kaminari, "I don't think so. I know Reika; she would not have gone anywhere without taking notes about location."

"I'm sure we all know Reika that much as well, Kaminari" stated Kazumitsu, "But Toshirou's got a point. It may be a small town, but cities in the Saitama Prefecture have a very different layout from the cities in the Kanagawa Prefecture. Now add to that the facts that it's still dark outside and we're literally fighting for our lives. That's enough tension to make anyone crack under pressure."

"I suppose I can't argue with that," Kaminari conceded, "But let's not give our hopes up just yet. I'm certain that Reika is alright. We just need to have a little more faith in her."

"She's right," stated Gakuto. He was somewhat trying to convince himself of that more than the others. Deep down, he shared Kaminari's hopes, but he hoped they were not in vain.

Gakuto reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. From the main menu, he opened up his list of contacts and scrolled through the list.

"What are you doing?" inquired Toshirou.

"I'm trying to see if I can still get through to Reika," Gakuto proclaimed as he continued surfing through his contact list, "I know that Furutani said that phone lines have been disabled, but he never said anything about cell phone service."

"Why would that be any different?" asked Kaminari.

"Because a city's main phone lines are all connected via electricity; the reception for them is generated from grounded signals," Gakuto explained without looking up from his phone, "Cell phones, on the other hand, are connected via wireless links. In order to cut off a local call between two cell phones, the people who run the Program would have to disable a significant part of the planet's satellite web. I don't think they would go to all that trouble just to leave us in the dark."

Toshirou and Kaminari did not respond. Kazumitsu just shrugged and remarked "I suppose it's worth a try."

One might wonder why Gakuto did not simply use his cell phone earlier to try contacting Osamu. The reasoning was simple: Osamu Sano did not trust cell phones, so he never used one.

He did not trust cell phones for a good reason: in case his group ever did something that violated a serious law and their involvement was exposed, the police would be able to track him down by using his cell phone signal. He also saw no real need for cell phones, as the only people he kept in contact with on a regular basis were the other members of the gang. He just used his home phone to keep in contact with them.

Gakuto finally found Reika's phone number. He selected it and held his phone up to his ear. He announced to the others "The signal got through; I think it's working!"

Kaminari, Toshirou, and Kazumitsu looked a little more hopeful at Gakuto's idea when he announced that. Unfortunately, no one ever picked up. After six rings, it went straight to voicemail. However, the voicemail was very different from the one Gakuto was used to hearing whenever he called Reika. It went like this:

"Hi, this is Reika Fujihara. I'm afraid I can't come to the phone at the moment. I'm either lost, wounded, or dead. But if you'd like to come to a pink party, I'd be very much obliged to service you!"

It was definitely Reika's voice, but nearly all the words were spoken at different pitches, almost as if Gakuto was listening to a doctored recording. What disturbed him the most, however, was what followed after the voicemail. He heard another voice say "A bold attempt on your part, Gakuto-kun. I'm afraid your efforts are in vain. You really must not underestimate our ability to isolate your cell phone and your classmates' cell phones from the rest of the population. We do not even need to manipulate the satellite web to manage this. Remember that now, alright?"

Gakuto was stunned. He had only half-expected his call to get through to Reika's phone anyway, but he had no idea that Furutani was monitoring them as well. Angrily, he shouted "Drop dead, you sick fucker!" Then he hung up his phone and slammed it down on the bar counter.

He stepped away from the counter and kicked over the nearest chair in frustration. The others just watched him without moving from their spots.

"I take it the call didn't go well?" Toshirou remarked drily.

"Nope," Gakuto answered through gritted teeth, "Turns out they've got all our phones quarantined. That was Furutani on the other line; he told me the satellite web has nothing to do with sorting us out."

"Shit," commented Kazumitsu, "Then again, I guess we should have thought about this earlier. If our cell phones were still capable of even making local calls, the soldiers would definitely have confiscated them before we woke up in the classroom."

"He's got a good point," Kaminari agreed, "Looks like we'll just have to stay put and wait for Reika."

There was silence once more. Gakuto stood thinking about what Furutani had told him. Before making the call, he had discussed the connection between cell phones and the planet's satellite web. In Furutani's message, the Program instructor had specifically mentioned the satellite web as well, almost as if he intended there to be a correlation.

"Interesting," Gakuto muttered to himself as he stood rubbing his chin.

"What's interesting, Gakuto?" asked Toshirou.

"I just thought of something," announced Gakuto, "Furutani was certain to point out the flaw in my theory about the satellite web and its connection to the cell phones' reception. How could he have known I was talking about the satellite web before I even made the call?"

This thought had not occurred to the others just yet. But they were now glad that Gakuto had addressed it. However, before they could start a discussion about this topic, there was a tapping on the door. This startled all four of them so much that they all jumped a foot in the air.

"Get down, get down!" Gakuto quietly ordered the others, waving his left arm towards the ground. Kazumitsu, Kaminari, and Toshirou quickly dropped to the floor and hid behind tables. Gakuto leaned back against the wall and pulled his IOF .32 Revolver out of his belt. He turned to face the door and watched it closely.

A moment later, the tapping sound came again. Gakuto turned to the others and gestured for them to stay put. He then faced the door and slowly inched his way towards it. He reached out for the door handle and wrapped his hand around the knob. Then he waited for a moment. He whispered under his breath "Three… two… one!"

Then he turned the knob, pushed the door open, and pointed his revolver out the door. There were two figures standing outside, both of them alarmed by Gakuto's actions. They held their hands over their heads and took a few steps back.

After a moment, Gakuto could see that one of them was wearing a uniform suit while the other was in a sailor suit. The figure in the sailor suit was also holding a pistol in one hand and said "Gakuto, don't! It's us!"

Gakuto took a moment to study the figures. The sun was not even close to coming up yet, but he was able to make out the faces in the dark. To his vast surprise (as well as his relief), they happened to be the same people he had been worrying about for the past hour and a-half.

Gakuto lowered his revolver, ducked it back into his belt, and smiled at the two of them. They smiled in return as he told them "Glad you two could make it."

"Of course we made it," stated Reika Fujihara, "We wouldn't miss this for the world."

"I'd hate to impose, but would you mind letting us in?" Osamu Sano slyly remarked.

Gakuto did not respond to that. He just stepped forward and seized both of his friends in a wide hug. For the second time in the past hour, a member of the gang had done something completely impulsive. But Osamu and Reika just let Gakuto hug them. They even joined in after a moment. In that time, Kaminari, Kazumitsu, and Toshirou rose up from the ground. They just smiled at the sight.

"Let's get inside," Gakuto said when he finally pulled apart from his friends, "We have much to discuss."

"Yes, we do," Osamu agreed.

He and Reika stepped inside the pub and Gakuto shut the door behind them. Now the group was whole once more.

…

Teru Machida (Boy #19) had a crafty mind. He saw the world a little differently from most people. Most people saw their everyday activities as simple matters they had already done over hundreds of times. Teru, on the other hand, saw all of his activities as challenges that he needed to complete. The vast majority of them were simple, even almost insignificant to constitute it an actual challenge. All the same, he had a way of handling any test that came his way in an organized manner.

Teru was a person who prepared thoroughly for any trial that came his way. His spent at least two weeks studying for a test before the actual test came about. Whenever physicals were announced, he would spend a few hours every day preparing to pass them with high marks. The most notable example was his contribution to his school's theatre arts program. Teru was a member of the drama club, and he had a habit of preparing exhaustively for his roles. In this way, he was something of a method actor. Whenever he gave a performance on stage, he virtually took the audience's breath away. Most people – even his closest friends – often forgot it was him on stage and actually believed he was the character he was playing. The head of the drama club, Tsukasa Yoshizawa (Boy #22), was particularly in awe of Teru for his commitment to his work

Several of his classmates were under the impression that Teru's only notable talent was acting. After all, he had been a member of the drama club for years. However, he had not joined many extracurricular activities other than theater. This was for good reason: he saw everything else as too simple a challenge. He saw sports as extremely overrated group work with shockingly predictable outlines. After all, the rules of all sports always stayed the same. While the execution of the rules may have developed different results almost all the time, the results were always nothing more than a take-off of the original rules. Drama was much different; any number of difficulties could come up. An actor had to be prepared for any sort of interruption and any deviation from the script. Those were more than a little likely to come up every now and then.

This was what Teru enjoyed the most about acting. He always had a strategy (and a few extra to spare) at the ready whenever presented with an obstacle. He rarely ran out of ideas, but whenever he did, he could often think up a new one within a half-hour.

If you were to ask any member of Class 3-Awho among them was the most intelligent, most of them would be inclined to answer Gakuto Yamashita. This may have been true, but Teru could probably give Gakuto a run for his money. While his academic performance may have left a little to be desired, Teru's brilliant mind gave him an advantage over many people in his class.

He sometimes had a habit of not playing by the rules, as well. In Teru's eyes, there was always another alternative option to take in every scenario. For example, in chemistry class, he would sometimes use chemicals that had not been provided in the beginning to achieve whatever the class was ordered to create.

In a similar fashion, he had no intention of playing the Program. He was not going to hide either. Instead, he had plans to sabotage it.

Out of all forty-five students in Class 3-A, Teru had put the least amount of distance between himself and the starting point of the game. Everyone else had put at least one square between himself or herself and the high school. Teru had only moved a little over a hundred feet away from the school's main entrance.

At this time, he was on top of a seventy-foot building located just a few dozen meters south of the school. He was standing on the edge of the building's flat roof. Actually, technically speaking, he was not really standing; he was squatting down on his right knee and resting his left arm on his left leg. That position may have been less comfortable, but it gave him a much better view of the school on the ground below.

Teru had decided to go to this building because it was the one that was closest to the school and just outside of C-5 at the same time. As of right then, Teru was just barely inside D-5; the invisible line separating the two zones was immediately in front of him. In fact, he was so close to the danger zone that if he so much as leaned his head forward over the edge, his necklace would have detonated.

But Teru was not so foolish as to get himself killed out of negligence; he made certain to keep at least two feet of space between himself and the south border of C-5 at all times.

He only got close enough so that he could conduct some reconnaissance.

From the top of the building, Teru could see the front entrance of the school. The guard was no longer there; the door must have been locked. Teru could also see that the lights were still on in the classroom. Teru reasoned out that Furutani and the soldiers must have been monitoring the game from there.

Teru was resting his weapon against his right shoulder. It was a harpoon rifle used by Japanese whalers. It was just small enough to fit in Teru's supply pack, but getting it out proved to be something of a challenge in itself. Once Teru actually managed to get the rifle out of his supply, he had discovered three short metal harpoons inside the pack. After looking over the rifle's manual, he loaded one of the harpoons into the firing mechanism and armed himself with his weapon.

At this time, he was thinking about how he actually planned to use his harpoon rifle. He was about seventy feet above the ground. The building in front of him was forty-five feet tall; the school was approximately twenty feet. Teru also calculated that there must have been about a hundred feet between his position and the entrance to the school. The angle from the school's entrance to his position on the seventy-foot building was approximately fifty-five degrees.

Teru did not know the trajectory of his harpoon rifle, as he had not tested it yet. But based on its size, adjustable settings, and the pressure applied by the firing mechanism, he reasoned out that the harpoon should at the very least cover a distance of one hundred feet.

Teru looked back and forth from the school entrance to his harpoon rifle. Then he started rubbing his chin with his free left hand and started contemplating what he could do from his current location.

"I'm no mailman, but maybe I could use my weapon to send them a little… 'delivery,'" he muttered under his breath.

It was here that Teru started formulating a plan to sabotage the Program at its very source. A well-thought-out plan which would come together very soon.

**39 Students Remaining**


	12. Two-Faced

**Note: Happy New Year's, everyone! Hope you're all doing well. By the way, if possible, I would recommend taking notes on the characters if you're unable to keep track of them all. That's just a suggestion; most of them don't play major roles, but they are still significant in their own ways.**

**By the way, I'd like to thank Terryllennium for the constructive criticism. I'll try my best to tone down the formal dialogue and make it seem more realistic. Glad to know you're enjoying it so far.**

Chieko Suda (Girl #11) was normally a calm, levelheaded, and rational person. These were three of the qualities that allowed her to curry favor with the faculty of whatever school she attended. They were also some of the reasons why she was the Class Vice-President of Class 3-A, as most people saw her as an ideal leader.

But even she had her limits. She was as capable of succumbing to panic as anyone else in her class. Here in the Program, she could barely even compose herself.

Like every other junior high school student in Japan, Chieko dreaded and feared the Program. However, she had even more reason to be afraid than most others: She had a friend who won a previous Program. Her name was Ayana Yabuki.

Ayana was four years older than Chieko and lived in the Gifu Prefecture. Four years earlier, her class had been selected for the Program. Initially, Ayana tried hiding out and taking her chances to survive. But when she saw her boyfriend die, she virtually lost her mind and went on a killing spree. She ended up killing a total of twelve people; five of them in a span of less than two hours.

After Ayana won the game, she was admitted to the hospital for almost a month so her injuries could be treated. When she got out, her life became no less complicated. Everywhere she went, people cowered or cringed in fear. She was usually silent, but her scars spoke a tremendous amount about her.

Less than a week after Ayana went home, Chieko stopped by to visit her. Even though Chieko was only eleven at the time, she could tell that Ayana was more than a little distraught. She was also old enough to comprehend the horrors of the Program. Her friend was grateful that Chieko was willing to listen to her; she desperately needed someone to talk to.

Ayana told her everything that she remembered about the Program. **Everything**. She spared no detail in her descriptions. Chieko was beyond terrified when Ayana was finished recounting her experiences in the Program. Ayana could tell Chieko was terrified and harshly demanded if she would treat her like scum now that she knew what she had done. Chieko tried to assure her that she would do no such thing, but Ayana was not convinced. She angrily threw Chieko out of her house and told her she never wanted to see her again.

Not long after that, Ayana started distancing herself from society. She became insubordinate and hostile towards everyone who even looked her way. Sometimes she tried drinking her sorrows away at a local pub, despite being underage. One time, she got into a bar fight with three men and sent all three of them to the hospital. One of them ended up dying from his wounds. Now it was evident that Ayana was too far gone to ever be her old self again.

Ever since then, Ayana had been committed to a mental institution indefinitely. She showed no promise of recovery in all the time she had been there. She was confirmed criminally insane by the asylum's board of directors. Chieko tried visiting Ayana once, but after she saw what had become of her friend, she never visited her again.

After this, Chieko tried her hardest to forget about the Program and to just get on with her life. But the image of Ayana Tabuki in that insane asylum was stuck in her memory forever. It was there to remind Chieko of the impact the Program had on people.

Now Chieko was actually in the Program. She had not seen anyone die and no one had tried to kill her, but she was already beyond traumatized.

Chieko was in E-10 near the eastern border of the city. She was leaning against the wall of an apartment building. She was out in the open, but she did not care. To her, hiding would only prolong the inevitable.

When she first left the school, her initial plan was to get as far away as possible from C-5. She had accomplished this objective well enough. But now she had no idea what to do next.

She had checked her supply pack shortly after leaving the school. To her despair, her designated weapon was just a bottle of cyanide. She could not even use that to defend herself against anyone who was playing.

As Chieko leaned against the wall of the apartment, she sat thinking about the situation. She was disgusted both with herself and the setting.

"Some goddamn Class Vice-President I turned out to be," she muttered under her breath, "I'll probably lose my head before the day is even half over."

Chieko had already accepted the almost unquestionable possibility that she was not going to get out of the Program alive. After all, what she knew of the game's reputation and Ayana's experiences was enough to tell her that only the people who were willing and determined to kill in order to survive actually win the game. Chieko was not willing to kill her friends. And even if she was, how could she play the game with nothing but a bottle of cyanide?

All the same, Chieko was not ready to die. She wanted to last as long as possible before her time came. Maybe if she was lucky, she would come across someone she trusted. Then at the very least, she could live her last moments in peace.

"I better get moving," Chieko said to herself as she got up off the ground, "I'm a sitting duck out here."

Chieko began heading back towards the west. She decided to take her chances in the city. There was just something about the apartments that made her feel uneasy.

About ten minutes later, she crossed over into E-9. Then she stopped when she spotted movement about a hundred meters away.

Someone was crossing the block. It was still dark, so Chieko could not make out who it was. She decided to investigate it; something about the figure's build looked familiar to her.

Chieko did her best to stay out of the streetlights, as they would be an easy giveaway of her position. She ran as quickly as she could without making any noise. Before long, she was less than fifty feet away from the figure while the figure itself had barely even moved ten feet.

From the new distance, Chieko could make out who was in front of her. She saw that it was Genji Nishihara (Boy #14).

For a brief moment, Chieko felt a wave of relief coming over her. She and Genji had been close friends and partners on Student Council for years. They had relied on each other to make the right decisions about organizing Class 3-A in all that time. In addition to this, Genji had a reputation as one of the easiest people to get along with.

Chieko was delighted to see Genji. She decided to advance towards him and to call out to him. He would certainly have a useful strategy.

However, as Chieko approached Genji, something caught her attention. Genji was armed with a large shotgun, and he was not holding it in a defensive manner. It almost appeared as if he planned to use it. Chieko quickly ducked into an alleyway before Genji spotted her.

About ten seconds later, she peaked around the corner and saw Genji walking down the street in the direction of the south. He was looking all over the city blocks. His behavior strangely reminded Chieko of a hunter looking for his prey.

Chieko did not know what to think. For a moment, she thought it was actually possible that her best friend and longtime class partner was playing the game. As much as she did not want to think about that prospect, there was enough evidence for it to be a plausible theory.

Chieko decided to follow Genji until she was certain of his motives. If it he were anyone else, he would have just moved on without investigating. But this was Genji; she was willing to take that chance for him. She ran out of the alleyway and made her way to the end of the block. Genji was less than two hundred feet away. Throwing caution to her footsteps, Chieko started after him.

Little did Chieko know that she may have been following her doom.

…

"Man, it's about fuckin' time," Tatsuo Inoue mumbled in exasperation.

After almost an hour of nonstop searching, Tatsuo had finally managed to find the mayor's skeleton key. As it turned out, the key had been in a cup of pens on the mayor's desk the whole time. Tatsuo was inwardly cursing himself for not searching in that cup in the first place. It would have saved him all that time he spent looking through the mountain of papers on the floor.

"I suppose I'm just lucky it's actually here," Tatsuo said to himself, "The mayor could have taken it with him when the city was evacuated."

Now that he had the skeleton key, he could gain access to the bomb shelter beneath the building. He recalled that there were three entrances to the shelter, but the one inside the building could only be accessed by a passcode. Tatsuo sat back down at the desk and looked over the blueprints of City Hall. Before long, he was able to pinpoint the other two entrances to the shelter on the building's exterior. One was just outside the west wing while the other was just outside the east wing.

"I wonder if I should investigate the shelter before Blaine wakes up," Tatsuo thought aloud, "Perhaps I should; it might be a good idea if one of us scouts ahead. Let's see how much time I have until six o'clock."

Tatsuo looked around the room for a clock. When he discovered there was none, he went over to his supply pack, opened it up, and fished out the watch he had been supplied with. It was still rather dark in the office, so he held his watch close to the window in effort to make out the clock's hands.

"Hmmm… quarter past five," he remarked as he studied his watch, "The sun will be up soon. Morning announcements won't be 'til after."

This time of year in Japan, the sun was typically up by 5:30 A.M. Tatsuo knew that the sunrise would occur after another fifteen minutes; twenty-five at the most.

Tatsuo stood contemplating his options. On the one hand, he could go ahead and search the bomb shelter and return to the mayor's office before Blaine woke up. Then he could listen to the morning announcements with Blaine. If he did this, he could still take advantage of the darkness outside and save Blaine the trouble of investigating as well. On the other hand, he could wait until Blaine woke up, listen to the morning announcements, and then the two of them could go the bomb shelter afterwards. Tatsuo knew he would not be able to investigate the bomb shelter on his own when Blaine was awake; Blaine would insist to accompany him. After all, they were best friends, and Blaine argued that no true best friend lets his own best friend walk into danger alone.

Ultimately, Tatsuo decided that it would be best to explore to the bomb shelter before morning announcements. After all, he was not even certain that they would find anything particularly useful in the shelter or that it was even as formidable as he hoped it would be. And if that was the case, they would have to locate another hideout. Certainly, the mayor's office sufficed for the present, but the above-ground windows in the room were a liability. They could not be boarded up, and Tatsuo was a little uncomfortable with being in a room whose entrances could not be entirely sealed off.

Tatsuo picked up the skeleton key and his watch and slipped them into the pocket in his uniform jacket. He then rolled up the blueprints of City Hall and went over to his supply pack. He decided to bring along the blueprints in order to confirm the location of the entrances to the bomb shelter relative to the outline on the blueprints.

Tatsuo zipped up his supply pack and slung it over his shoulders. Just before he turned to the door, he spotted his Persian Long Luger mod1314 on the mayor's desk. He still had yet to load his weapon or even arm himself with it. Now that he was going outside on his own, Tatsuo figured it would be as good a time as any to equip his pistol.

He walked back over to the mayor's desk and picked up his weapon. It was still in its holster. Tatsuo opened his supply pack back up and removed a box of 7.65x21 mm Parabellum cartridges. He also found four 8-round detachable box magazines which had to be inserted into the Luger's feeding system. Working quickly, Tatsuo loaded all four of the magazines and put three of them back into his supply pack. Then he removed the Luger from its holster and inserted the fourth magazine into the feeding system. After making certain the safety was on, he put his pistol off to the side.

Tatsuo needed to equip the holster next. He unbuckled his belt and pulled out part of its leather body. Then he inserted the loop of his gun's holster onto the right side of his belt and slid it down his belt until it was directly above his right thigh. Once the holster was securely in place, Tatsuo buckled his belt up again.

After this, Tatsuo picked his gun back up and slid it into the holster. Now he was properly armed.

Tatsuo turned to Blaine and saw that he was still fast asleep. He smirked and commented "Just stay put. I'll be back soon." Then he approached the door to the office, unlocked it, and stepped outside. Tatsuo thought about using the skeleton key to relock the door to the mayor's office, but decided against it, just in case he had to make a hasty retreat back to the office.

Tatsuo slowly approached the massive double doors which served as the building's entrance, keeping his right hand on the handle of his pistol. With his left hand, he gradually pushed open the door and peaked outside. From what he could see, there was no one in the area. Tatsuo quietly slipped outside and shut the door behind him. Then he began making his way down the stairs.

As he descended, Tatsuo wondered whether he should use the west entrance or the east entrance to the bomb shelter. Location was not the only difference between the two; logistics played a certain role. The west entrance was closer to the school, meaning that he would be more likely to encounter someone if he went that way. That being said, he decided to use the east entrance.

Just as he made this decision, Tatsuo made it to the bottom of the staircase. He turned to his left and began making his way to the east side of the building. First he looked over his shoulder to make certain he was alone. When he was sure of it, he turned his head back around. Then he stopped in his tracks.

Two people were approaching from the west. But they were standing very close together and approaching at a very gradual pace. It was almost as if one of them was helping the other.

Tatsuo ducked back behind the staircase and waited. The couple appeared to be walking directly towards him, but nothing about their behavior suggested that either of them had noticed him. All the same, he wanted to know who was coming and – if possible – find out what their intentions were.

After three minutes later, the two other students were still not even close to reaching Tatsuo. The pressure of the scenario was starting to get to him. Less than thirty seconds later, he decided to take on a more direct approach. He drew his Luger and called out "Who's there?"

He heard one of them gasp in shock; the other almost immediately shushed that person. Then he heard the latter of them respond: "It's Yuuga! Kiyomi's with me! We're not playing!"

Before Tatsuo could respond, he heard the first person say to the other one "Yuuga, I think that's Tatsuo."

"Are you sure?" said the other person.

"It has to be; I'd recognize his voice anywhere," was the answer.

"One way to find out," said the second person. A moment later, Tatsuo heard that person yell "Tatsuo, is that you? Where are you?"

Tatsuo hesitated at first, but then he thought about the situation. Neither of his classmates had any note of malevolence in their voices. Then he took a look at himself; he realized that the tension of the Program was starting to get to him. He also realized that he was being suspicious and inquisitive when there was no apparent need for this behavior. If he wanted to survive, he knew he would have to show his classmates that he was still capable of trusting them.

Tatsuo stepped out from behind the staircase and responded "I'm right here."

Yuuga Suzuki (Boy #11) and Kiyomi Takayama (Girl #12) were standing just a few meters in front of him. Yuuga had Kiyomi's arm over his shoulders, as if he was giving her a helping hand.

…

In C-2, there was an insurance building that measured to be about fifty stories tall. Goro Shiroi (Boy #10) had just entered the front lobby of the skyscraper. He cautiously made his way through the vast front room and came to an elevator. Once he was there, he pressed the "up" button. A moment later, one of the elevators opened up in front of him. Goro quickly stepped inside and pressed the button for the top floor. The elevator doors quickly closed on him and he began his ascent.

Goro wanted to get as far above the ground as he possibly could. He had three good reasons for this. First of all, he figured that if he was hundreds of feet in the air, it would be hard for anyone else to locate him. Secondly, when he checked his supply pack earlier, he had found a sniper rifle as his designated weapon. From the top of the skyscraper, he would be able to see the whole of the city. That would allow him to keep track of where everyone else was.

The third reason was a bit of a combination of the first two. Goro planned to use the altitude and his weapon to his advantage. Basically, he intended to play the game. And he would play it to win.

Most people who actually played in the Program were primarily motivated by their will to survive. After all, the desire to remain alive is perhaps the most human of all instincts. However, this was not Goro's chief motivation. While he did want to live, there was something else he wanted even more. Something the Program could get him: the public's attention.

Goro was one of the most popular students in Class 3-A. He regularly hanged out with Genji Nishihara's group, he was involved in numerous extracurricular activities, and he was on the Student Council.

However, people only seemed to pay a great deal of attention to Goro at school. At home, it was a much different story.

Goro was the youngest of five children; all of them male. All four of his brothers had attended Keio University before him, and the two eldest had already graduated from the Keio Shonan Fujisawa University College. Three of his older brothers had their own houses in other parts of Fujisawa. His eldest brother Shinzo even had a wife and a five-year-old daughter.

Being the last of five boys proved to have unfortunate repercussions for Goro. All his life, he had been overlooked by his family. His mother and father always boasted about the accomplishments of Shinzo and their three middle sons. However, Goro almost never got any recognition for anything he did.

One could theorize that he never got any recognition because he probably never even tried anything that could get him some. This hypothesis would be erroneous. Quite the contrary, Goro frequently went out of his way to try to get his parents' attention. He tried out for sports, took up musical instruments, and contributed greatly to the Student Council. But his parents never gave him as much as a pat on the back or a "congratulations."

Goro's parents did not hate him; they loved him very much. They were just too busy with their jobs and with their other four sons to give him their attention. And Goro was not vain. He did not want to be showered with praise or acclaim for his work. All he wanted was a little acknowledgment. He just wanted his parents to feel proud of him. All his life he tried this, but they never even seemed to care about his effort.

He did not want to die an unnoticed, overlooked, and insignificant person. He wanted people to remember him for something, even if that "something" was the Program.

For these reasons, Goro was not going to give up his life in the Program so easily. He thought that maybe if he actually won it and came home afterwards, his parents would finally recognize his potential. And even if he did not win, he would at least try to give the audience a performance they would not forget.

Certainly, Goro felt a little guilty about turning a weapon on his friends, but his desire for his family's recognition outweighed all of his friendships, even those with Blaine, Genji, Tatsuo, and the girls in their group.

Soon, Goro reached the top floor of the skyscraper. After the elevators opened up, he stepped out and made his way to the faculty staircase. He forced the door open and made his way up to the roof. Fortunately for him, the door was unlocked. He opened it up and stepped outside; he came out onto the center of the roof. Goro ran to the edges of the roof and began examining the building's surroundings. Before setting up his sniper rifle, he wanted to determine what would be the best position to shoot from.

According to his map, C-2 was near the northwestern corner of the city. That meant that most of Goro's classmates could be found south or east of his position. Ultimately, Goro decided to set up his sniper rifle near the southeastern corner of the roof. Once he got there, he took his supply pack and opened it up. His sniper rifle was lying on top of the rest of his provisions.

Goro slowly pulled out the sniper rifle and looked it over. It was a Zastava M76 originally from Yugoslavia. It had been developed in 1976 by Zastava Arms and the primary users were the Yugoslav National Army. In modern days, the rifle was utilized heavily by sharpshooters in the Serbian army.

The Zastava M76 had a gas-operated action bar; the gun would automatically reload itself after each round was fired. This would save Goro a little more time between shots; he would not have to reload manually until the magazine was empty.

Goro put his rifle to the side and dug through his bag to look for the ammunition cases. A moment later, he found them and took one of them out. The Zastava M76 used standard 7.92 x 57mm Mauser cartridges. While the gun originated from Yugoslavia, the ammunition it used had originated in Germany. In their time, these cartridges had been one of the most popular types of ammunition around the world. Nowadays, they were mostly used for hunting and other sports involving firearms.

Goro found three detachable boxes that could be loaded into the rifle's feed system; these boxes served as the gun's magazines. Each one could hold ten cartridges at a time. Goro decided to go ahead and load all three of them, just in case he had to fire more than ten shots at once. He opened up one of the ammunition cases and loaded the cartridges into the detachable boxes one at a time.

As he loaded the detachable boxes, Goro looked off to the west. He could see that an electric fence had been set up near the city limits, just as Furutani told the class. About every eight hundred feet, there was a watchtower set up on the opposite side of the fence. At least one soldier was standing guard in each tower. Goro could make out all of them from his position on the insurance building.

It would have been easy for Goro to pick off the soldiers standing guard at the borders of the city. However, he decided against using his rounds against them. He only had so much ammunition; there were too many for him to risk missing his shot. He was also certain that he would have to work on his aim before he could rely on it.

Most of all, Goro did not use his weapon on the soldiers because he had a feeling that he would be sealing his own fate by doing so. After all, if even one of the soldiers was killed, it would not take the others long to determine what killed him. Then they would simply have to look up who was given the weapon responsible for the death, and Goro would be exposed as the murderer. Goro was certain that his necklace would be detonated if Furutani and the soldiers found out he was killing their colleagues. Truth be told, he was right.

Once Goro had all three of the detachable boxes loaded, he took one of them and inserted it into the Zastava M76's feeding system. After fitting it into place, Goro locked the bolt and took a steady grip on his weapon with both hands.

The rifle had been fitted with a ZRAK ON-M76 4x 5°10' scope. It could be adjusted to see anywhere from 100 meters to 1,000 meters away. Goro hoped that he would be able to shoot even further than that.

For the present, Goro decided to wait until dawn before he did anything with his weapon. He would not have to wait long for the sun to rise; it was past five o'clock.

Goro slid his backpack off his shoulders and rested against the edge of the roof. There was no railing, but the border of the roof was about a foot taller than its surface. Goro would be able to rest his sniper rifle on top of the ledge and simultaneously kneel in a comfortable position.

As Goro sat on the roof, he thought about what was to come. Then he wondered; what could his friends be doing?

"I really hope I won't have to kill Chieko, Genji, or the others," he uttered, "Maybe if I'm lucky, somebody else will take care of them. It'll save me the guilt."

…

Tatsuo felt an immense amount of surprise and relief come over him at once. He was not very well-acquainted with Yuuga, but he knew him well enough to know that he was not a violent person by nature. Even better than that, he was with Kiyomi. Blaine would be very pleased with this.

"Good to see you," was all Tatsuo could say.

Yuuga just smirked and remarked "Feeling's mutual."

Kiyomi tried her best to stand up straight on her left leg. Then she looked up at Tatsuo and asked him "What are you doing here?"

"Doing a little investigation," he answered her, "City Hall has a bomb shelter underneath it. Unfortunately, the only accessible entrances are on the building's exterior."

"What do you hope to do once you find it?" asked Yuuga.

"If possible, barricade myself in it," Tatsuo told him, "Even if it's not fit for this type of survival, I'm certain all at least find some useful equipment."

"Do you think there might be some first aid kits in there?" asked Yuuga, "Kiyomi could sure use one. It would save us the trouble of getting to the hospital."

It was then that Tatsuo noticed that Kiyomi was favoring her side, as if she was wounded.

"Is she alright?" Tatsuo queried, gesturing to Kiyomi.

"She should be," Yuuga answered, "I found her a few blocks over. She's been wounded, but the injury isn't fatal. We're making our way to the hospital to patch her injury up."

Tatsuo slowly walked over to the two of them and asked "Can I see the injury?"

"Sure, go ahead," Kiyomi replied, removing her hand from her wound, "It stopped bleeding about an hour ago, but it still hurts."

Tatsuo took a close look at Kiyomi's thigh. After examining the wound, he remarked "I take it this was caused by a gun?"

"Yes; I was lucky the bullet only grazed me," Kiyomi replied, covering up her injury with her hand once more, "I'd rather not talk about what happened until after I get it bandaged."

"Well, looks like Yuuga was right," Tatsuo informed her, "I'm no doctor, but a first aid kit could definitely get the job done well enough. I'll go to the bomb shelter and see what I can find."

"Can we join you?" said Yuuga.

"That depends on what you mean by 'join,'" stated Tatsuo, "Do you want to stay with me after Kiyomi is healed? On that note, what are your plans for survival? Do you want to work solo or were you hoping to meet up with others?"

He did not get a response immediately. After a few seconds, Yuuga told him "Truth be told, I haven't given that much thought."

"Me neither," said Kiyomi.

Tatsuo just grinned and remarked "Then what say we team up? That'd make four of us."

"Four?" said Yuuga, "Who would there be besides you, me, and Kiyomi?"

Tatsuo realized right then that he had not even mentioned Blaine up until this point. He slapped himself in the forehead and chuckled. Then he told them "I'm sorry, I'm such an idiot. How could I forget to tell you?"

"Tell us what?" inquired Kiyomi.

"Oh, nothing much," Tatsuo answered in a levelheaded manner, "But I have something you might like to know, Kiyomi."

"What?" said Kiyomi, leaning forward in curiosity, "Tell me, Tatsuo, please."

Tatsuo smiled and told her "I met up with Blaine almost immediately after leaving the school. We've been staying here together at City Hall for over two hours."

A moment later, a wide smile came across Kiyomi's face. Tatsuo could only imagine how elated his news must have made her. After all, if there was one person in the whole of Class 3-A that was closer to Blaine than Tatsuo, it was Kiyomi. She asked Tatsuo in excitement "Where is he, Tatsuo?"

"He's upstairs in the mayor's office," Tatsuo answered, pointing over his shoulder at the stairs, "How about you two go ahead and make your way up there right now? I'll be back after I check out the bomb shelter."

"That sounds alright with me," stated Yuuga, "What's he doing up there anyway?"

"Sleeping," Tatsuo replied simply.

"Sleeping?" remarked Yuuga, "How the fuck could he sleep at a time like this?"

"I actually encouraged him to," said Tatsuo, "We both agreed it would be best if one of us was rested come sunrise. And since I spent most of my free time sleeping yesterday, I thought it was only fair for Blaine to get some rest first."

"Makes sense to me," stated Kiyomi. As Yuuga led her over to the staircase, she asked Tatsuo "How do we find the mayor's office?"

"Just go through the double doors at the top of the stairs," Tatsuo instructed them, "Then go to the second door on the left side of the lobby. If you want to wake Blaine up, I'd suggest you do it cautiously. His designated weapon was a pump-action shotgun."

Yuuga whistled in interest. "Don't worry; we won't do anything stupid."

"Good," said Tatsuo as he turned back to the east. From his position on the ground, he could see a bright light shining over the top of the buildings. He told his friends "Looks like the sun's almost up. You two better get inside. I'll try to be back by the morning announcements."

"Alright, see you in a bit," commented Yuuga. He and Kiyomi began making their way up the large staircase. While they ascended, Tatsuo ran down the street towards the end of the block. Once he reached the end of the block, he turned around the corner.

He stayed close to the sidewalk as he examined the side of the building. He kept his eyes open for any indication of a hidden door. When he was about halfway down the street, he spotted a keyhole in the side of the wall. It was cleverly concealed, most likely because it was supposed to be restricted from the public.

Tatsuo removed the skeleton key from his pocket and approached the keyhole. He took a deep breath and muttered "Here it is; the moment of truth." He inserted the key into the hole. It was a perfect fit! He turned it ninety degrees clockwise and heard a "click" a moment later. Tatsuo pushed the door open and smirked in satisfaction.

"Fuckin' A," he remarked as he stepped inside, "Let's see what this place has to offer."

At this time, Yuuga and Kiyomi had reached the top of the stairs. Yuuga needed both hands to pull just one of the massive doors open, so he had to let go of Kiyomi. She held onto the staircase's rail to keep her balance while Yuuga opened the door. Once it was open, he turned back to Kiyomi and helped her inside.

"He said the second door on the left," Kiyomi recalled as she looked around the room. Once she spotted the right door, she pointed it out and told Yuuga "That one must be it."

Yuuga could tell that Kiyomi was eager to get to the mayor's office. She was looking forward to seeing Blaine. Truthfully, he could not blame her; he would have been just as enthusiastic if he found Yuriye Sakaguchi.

Before long, they made it to the mayor's office. As they stepped inside, Yuuga spotted someone sleeping on the ground along the wall.

"It's Blaine!" Yuuga whispered as he helped Kiyomi inside, "Here, you go ahead and wake him up. I'll stand guard outside the door."

"Alright, sounds fine to me," Kiyomi agreed. Yuuga turned back to the door and stepped back out into the lobby, closing the door behind him.

Now Kiyomi was temporarily left alone with her boyfriend. The injury in her side seemed surprisingly less intense now. Maybe the reassurance that Blaine was safe was enough to ease the pain slightly. That did not matter to her. She just made her way over to the wall and sat down in front of Blaine. She wanted to wake him up.

He looked so peaceful in his sleep, but that not stop Kiyomi. She leaned down next to Blaine's face and kissed him on the cheek. That would be enough to wake up Blaine. Kiyomi scoffed as she realized this was similar to the legend of Sleeping Beauty, only with a reversal of the genders.

After a moment, Blaine started awakening. His eyes gradually opened and his breathing got louder. A few seconds later, he could see clearly. He was able to make out a figure in front of him. But the figure was not Tatsuo.

Blaine's initial reaction was to reach for his shotgun. But before he did, the figure stopped him and said "Blaine, don't! It's me!"

Blaine stopped moving. He would recognize that voice anywhere. The first time he heard it, it sounded no different to him than the typical female teenage Japanese voice. Overtime, he managed to discern it from other voices by its harmonious pitch and gentle volume. Now, it felt like the sweetest sound in the world to him.

"Kiyomi?" he asked with zeal.

"Hi, Blaine," she replied with an affectionate smile, "Did you miss me?"

Blaine just took his arms and wrapped them around Kiyomi, pulling her into a tight hug. He was so glad to see her that he just wanted to sit there and hold her forever. After a moment, she hugged him in return.

"I missed you more than you can imagine, Kiyomi," he told her.

That was the most truthful thing he had said since the Program began.

…

In the seventeenth, eighteenth, nineteenth, and even twentieth centuries, most people were likely to carry around handkerchiefs. Nowadays, not so much.

However, Chieko Suda was an exception. She currently had her handkerchief out and she was using it to wipe the sweat off her face.

Normally, she did not sweat much. But she had to run at a quick pace in order to keep up with Genji Nishihara. He was surprisingly fast for a student who often sat out during physical education.

Presently, Genji was entering F-9. Chieko was approximately forty meters behind him. She had to be even stealthier than before, now that the sun was starting to rise. It would be easy for Genji to spot her, even if he was not trying to.

Chieko still had no idea where Genji was going or what his plans were. But she was determined to find out. So she kept following Genji, all the while keeping a certain amount of distance from him.

"Where are you taking me?" she muttered under her breath, "You've gotta be heading **somewhere**."

Chieko was starting to get annoyed with just following Genji around. All the same, she kept after him.

Finally, about five minutes later, Genji stopped in front of a four-story building. It was built much differently from the other apartments. Genji walked up to the front door of the building, forced it open, and stepped inside.

Chieko hesitated on whether or not to follow him. For all she knew, Genji may have had plans to use this building as a temporary hideout or a resting place. But he left the door wide open. Why would he leave the door open if he planned to stay in the building?

Then it occurred to Chieko; maybe Genji knew she was following him. Maybe this was a gesture for her to… go in after him. It could have been a signal. This theory made more sense to Chieko.

She decided to wait outside the entrance. Maybe Genji was only slipping inside for a moment and he had plans to come back out immediately after.

Ten minutes passed and still Genji had not come out. By then, Chieko decided she would not just stand around. She cautiously approached the front door.

The front room was empty. All the lights were off, as well. However, there was a light emanating from the next room. Chieko crossed over into that room and saw the light was coming from a lamp at the top of the staircase. Chieko made her way up the stairs to the second floor. There was another light coming from the next story. Chieko walked up the third floor and found yet another light one story higher. She made her way up to the fourth floor.

Genji was on none of these floors. However, Chieko noticed something. There was another light emanating from another room on the fourth floor. She crossed over to that room and found one more staircase. This one led up to the roof. Chieko looked up the staircase and saw the door at the top was open. Genji must have been on the roof.

Chieko held onto the rails and made her way up the stairs. She held her breath, as she felt more than a little nervous about what she might encounter at the top.

After a long minute, she reached the top of the stairs. She took a very deep breath and stepped out onto the roof. To her surprise, there was no one there. Genji was nowhere to be seen.

Chieko looked around both corners to the room on the roof, but they were both bare. No one was there.

"Maybe he jumped," Chieko said to herself. She knew there was always a possibility that Genji actually did jump off the roof, even though he never seemed like the suicidal type. Chieko went to the edges of the roof and looked over them. There was no signs of a body anywhere on the ground. Not even a sign of blood.

After a minute, Chieko just sighed and stood by the east side of the building. She said to herself "Maybe he knew I was following him. Maybe this was just a distraction to get me to break off my pursuit."

Chieko did not want to believe this, but she realized there was a good chance it was the truth. Maybe Genji wanted to be alone and he had set up this whole scheme to ditch Chieko in the first place. He might have even left the building a few minutes earlier. After all, it would not take that much time to turn on a few lights, open a few doors, and then sneak out the back entrance.

Chieko decided to head back downstairs. But just before she did, something caught her attention.

The sun was rising over the top of the buildings.

Chieko had never taken the time to watch an entire sunrise. Mostly because it was one of those things she took for granted and because it happened every day.

But being in the Program had already taught her one thing: even the little things in life are treasures. One of these "little things" was the sunrise. Chieko stood walked closer to the east edge of the building and watched as the sun rose. She was mesmerized by its beauty and radiance. Never before had she stopped to think about how beautiful a sunrise truly was. She felt a small amount of tranquility as she watched it. It almost brought a tear of joy to her eye.

Chieko was so captivated that she did not even notice a shadow coming up behind her.

When the sun was all the way over the top of the buildings in the distance, Chieko felt a few more joyful tears slide down her cheeks. She pulled her handkerchief back out and used it to wipe the corners of her eyes.

Before she could even lower her hand, someone grabbed her from behind. The person wrapped his left arm around her torso, immobilizing her arms. Then he used his right hand to swipe her handkerchief out of her hand. He forced it into her mouth and kept his hand clamped over her lips.

Chieko was overwhelmed with shock. She had not even heard the person approach her from behind. But now she had been caught completely off her guard. Now because of her negligence, she could not move her arms or scream for help. The figure also had his legs positioned around hers; even Chieko tried, she would not be able to kick him.

After a few seconds, the person behind her finally spoke. He said in a malicious voice "Hello, Chieko. Enjoying the view?"

Chieko felt her heart sink. It was Genji's voice. He had remained inside the building all along.

But what was he doing? Why was he restraining her? Chieko could not piece any of this together.

Genji spoke in a disturbingly calm voice, "I suppose you're feeling very confused right now. I guess you want an explanation."

Chieko slowly nodded her head, trying hard not to gag on her handkerchief.

Genji stated "Very well. I'll tell you everything. But listen closely, alright?"

Without giving Chieko a chance to respond, Genji told her "I always appreciated your company. For the longest time you've been my best friend. You weren't like all the other douchebags in our class who tried contributing with their petty talents."

Chieko was shocked to hear Genji say such a thing. This was perhaps the most unexpected thing that had ever come out of his mouth.

"You surprised to hear me say that?" stated Genji, scoffing, "Well, I think it's high-time you met the real Genji Nishihara. The one that comes out when no one else is around."

Chieko felt like she was choking, but the handkerchief was not responsible for that feeling. This could not be Genji. Genji was the nicest person she ever knew. He was the one person she could turn to in times of desperation.

"You wanted the truth; that's exactly what I'm giving you," Genji remarked, "Do you have any idea what it was like for me, having to constantly act like I actually gave two shits about you and everyone else? Truthfully, I couldn't care less about most of the imbeciles in our class. I still can't believe that none of them ever suspected that I was just acting all this time. Hell, if Tsukasa knew I was just acting all this time, he would have **insisted **I joined the drama club."

These words painfully set in. They hurt Chieko in more ways than any physical injury ever could. But now things started making more sense. Genji must have known she was following him, so he led her into the building on purpose. Chieko realized he must have done this to lure her up to the roof. She had walked directly into a trap.

Genji leaned his head over her shoulder and told her "I will be honest, though, you were one of the few people I actually **do **care for. Had we made it to graduation, I might have even considered getting into a more serious relationship with you. But the Program changes everything. As much as I'd like to take advantage of the new 'two potential survivors' rule, I'm afraid I can't trust you to watch my back. I just know you'd crack under the pressure."

Unbeknownst to Genji, Chieko already had cracked. His words were tearing her apart. Throughout all those years of her affiliation with Genji, it never once occurred to Chieko that he was just feigning his politeness the entire time. After a moment, Genji removed his right hand from Chieko's mouth and took a hold of her supply pack. He slid it off her shoulder and arms.

"I'll take that, if you don't mind," he remarked, tossing the supply pack to the side. Then he turned his attention back to Chieko and told her, "Now comes the hard part: saying good-bye. It almost pains me to do this, but I've already gone too far. Say 'hi' to Misaki for me."

Before Chieko could wonder what he meant, Genji withdrew his left arm from around her torso and pushed her forward. Chieko stumbled for a moment and tripped over the edge of the roof.

It was still too early for there to be a morning breeze, but Chieko felt as if she was in a wind tunnel. Within two seconds she had fallen twenty feet. Less than ten seconds later, her body reached the ground. A sickening "SPLAT" echoed around the block.

"Ooooo, that's gotta hurt," Genji commented cheekily. He took a step forward and looked over the side. Chieko was sprawled out on the ground. She was not moving, but Genji could tell that she was still breathing. He knew that would not stay the same for long, so he just picked up Chieko's bag and slung it over his shoulders.

He went over to the room on the roof (the one that contained the staircase) and pulled down his assault rifle. Genji had been hiding on top of that room when Chieko came up to the roof. When her guard was down, he had quietly climbed down from it and jumped her.

"That makes two," Genji said as he shouldered his rifle. He was now equipped with two supply packs (his own and Chieko's), his backpack, and the rifle. It was quite a load, but Genji was able to handle it.

He began making his way down the stairs.

At the same time, Chieko was struggling to stay alive. She tried lifting herself up off the ground, but she barely even had the strength to move. Many of her ribs had been cracked and several of her internal organs had been mutilated. Weakly, Chieko spat out her handkerchief, along with a few of her teeth. Every inch of her was overcome with sheer agony.

However, this pain was nothing compared to the damage that had been dealt to her spirit. Genji Nishihara – her closest friend, her fellow class representative, and the boy she secretly loved – was the one who had done this to her. This alone made her lose her will to live.

As Chieko's vision started fading, she thought _Why couldn't he have just killed me without any explanation? Better to die living a fantasy than to die enlightened._

Chieko was heartbroken, both literally and figuratively. Most of her heart's arteries had ruptured from the inside.

It was ultimately internal bleeding that caused her body to quit functioning. Just five minutes later, she collapsed. She was lying face down in a pool of her own blood.

**Girl #11 Chieko Suda – Dead**

**38 Students Remaining**


	13. The Connections We Share

**Note: This chapter might seem a little slow at first; it's another one of those character development chapters. But the next chapter will be more lively, trust me!**

**I'd like to personally thank Director Denial for the lengthy critique of the last chapter. You actually gave me a couple ideas for a couple of chapters in the future. I'm also glad you like the prose and the dialogue. I'll be certain to keep that up.**

**I'd also like to thank Cocobutterrox for the multiple reviews. I'm pleased to know that the suspense I'm putting in the story is effective. Also, I really do appreciate you pointing out my grammar mistakes. Believe me, I go to great lengths to make sure my fanfics are syntactically correct in terms of grammer, but every so often, I overlook a few errors. I'm grateful you pointed the few I missed out!**

**Now, on to the chapter.**

Tatsuo Inoue (Boy #2) had just returned to the mayor's office. He had spent the last fifteen minutes searching through the bomb shelter. He had managed to find a supply of first aid kits, among other things. He had brought some of them up, and now Yuuga Suzuki (Boy #11) and Blaine Rhodes were putting them to good use by treating Kiyomi Takayama (Girl #12).

Yuuga was using a bottle of disinfectant to clean the wound up. Blaine was using one of his hands to hold up part of Kiyomi's shirt so that her uniform was out of the way of her injury. He was also looking over the injury and instructing Yuuga on what to do.

"Okay, now once you've cleaned out the wound, it'll be safe to bandage it up," Blaine announced, "Because the bullet only grazed Kiyomi, she won't need any stitches. But we'll need to get it covered straight away."

"You got it," Yuuga agreed. He removed some bandages and gauze from the first aid kit and began to wrap up Kiyomi's wound. Once he was finished, he placed his hand on the bandages and asked Kiyomi "How do you feel?"

She winced slightly and answered "I feel fine."

Yuuga could tell she was still hurting a little, but she was telling the truth when she said she was alright. He rubbed his hands together in satisfaction and sat back against the wall. As Kiyomi put her shirt back on straight, Yuuga looked up at Blaine and asked him "How'd you know what to do?"

"My mother is a doctor," Blaine replied, "A highly qualified one, I might add. She's actually treated bullet wounds herself before. In fact, that's how she and my father met."

"Really?" asked Yuuga, "How'd that happen?"

"About twenty years ago, my father had just graduated from the Marine Corps," Blaine explained, "He went on his first official tour of duty in Russia. His team's assignment was to escort a group of American diplomats to a meeting in Moscow in order to mediate in some sort of international dispute. The Russian police force received threats of a possible assassination attempt on the diplomats' lives, and they requested American help. That's where my father's team came in."

"What happened next?" asked Yuuga.

"As it turned out, the Russians' fears were warranted," Blaine responded, "A group of political insurgents tried to stop the convoy. A very deadly encounter ensued between them and the marines. My father's team managed to push them back, but he was wounded in the chest. The injury was so severe that he needed immediate medical attention. An entire team of surgeons had to operate at the American embassy. Guess who the doctor who headed the team was."

"Your mother," Tatsuo remarked drily.

"Correct," said Blaine, "That was the first time she was in charge of such an important operation. The surgery was a success. After my father woke up, the first thing he saw was my mother. From what they told me, he made a comment about how he thought he died and gone to heaven, as he felt he was staring at an angel."

Tatsuo and Yuuga felt the desire to laugh, but suppressed it.

"I know, it's a lame pickup line," Blaine went on, "But my mother went along with it. She actually flirted with him while he was in her care."

"What happened next?" asked Kiyomi, as she too was now interested in the story.

"Well, let's just say that my father was admitted to that hospital with a bullet in his chest," Blaine responded, "And a couple weeks later, he left it with a lipstick stain on his cheek and my mother's phone number in his pocket."

"Is that a typical American romance?" Tatsuo asked rhetorically. He had actually seen a few American romance films with Blaine throughout the school year, and he knew that the romance between Blaine's parents was much different than the typical American romance.

"Well, he called her after about a week," Blaine answered, "They were stationed in Moscow for a few months longer, but managed to make time to meet up and interact whenever they were off-duty. Even when they went back home to the United States, they remained in contact. As luck would have it, they both lived in California. Things went steady between them from there. After about two years, he popped the question. I resulted shortly after."

"Interesting," remarked Yuuga, "Both your parents met while they were doing their jobs. That sounds more like a typical Japanese romance."

Blaine scoffed and said "I guess so."

There was a short period of silence in the room. Tatsuo was the one who broke it. He told the others "I took a look around the bomb shelter. Bad news is there isn't enough stuff down there for us to fortify the inside; barricading ourselves down there is out of the question. Good news is there are plenty of supplies down there. I'm certain we can put them to good use."

"That's good," stated Blaine as he helped Kiyomi sit up, "I suppose we can just stay here for the moment. City Hall is safe enough."

"I take it the three of you are teaming up together?" Yuuga asked the others.

"Of course we are," Tatsuo responded, "We can trust each other. Why do you ask, Yuuga? You have plans to be somewhere else?"

"In a way… yes," Yuuga replied. He had his Beretta 98 tucked into his belt. He looked around at his friends and told them "I can afford to stay with you guys for a little while, but eventually, I'll have to get back out there."

"Why, Yuuga?" queried Kiyomi, "Is something bothering you?"

"I'm just worried about Yuriye," Yuuga answered her, "She may be out there all on her own, and I want to find her as soon as I possibly can."

"Well, we can't force you to stay with us, Yuuga," Blaine decided, "But how long do you think you'll stay with us?"

"I don't really know," Yuuga responded, "It will depend on how the day advances. But by the end of the day, I'm definitely heading out."

"Well, whenever you do leave, I wish you the best of luck," Blaine told him, "If you manage to find Yuriye, look out for her."

"I will," said Yuuga, "I just know I'll find her."

Even though he could not read his own face, Yuuga was certain he was telling the truth. He would not let himself or Yuriye Sakaguchi (Girl #9) down.

…

Eiko Hirakawa (Girl #17) was currently in H-1. It had been over two hours since her encounter with Kazuki Chikuda. Shortly after this, she had decided to find a place to rest. So she decided to stop at the first apartment she could find. Or at least the first one that was not in total chaos. She was actually amazed by how disorganized most of the apartments in town were. The owners must have been forced to pack up hastily before they were evacuated.

Eventually, she managed to find a neat apartment. She stopped to rest there.

At the time, she had just finished making breakfast. She wanted something a little more filling than bread and water. So she helped herself to some eggs and ham she found in the refrigerator. Fortunately for her, the food was still fresh enough to eat.

Eiko had learned how to cook at a relatively young age. Her family had their own personal cooks who made all their meals; Eiko learned almost every trick in the book from them.

"I suppose Mother would be pleased to know I was actually paying attention to those lessons," Eiko commented as she tucked in to her breakfast. She ate slowly and carefully, as her mother had raised her to follow proper meal etiquette at all times.

Eiko was not used to this standard of living; her family was upper-class. Her father had gotten rich from multiple innovations he had made in the modern technological market. It was enough for him and his family to live in luxury.

Eiko was actually the heiress to her father's fortune. He planned to teach her everything he knew about business management. So far, he had taught her plenty, but she was far from ready to inherit it.

While Eiko mostly enjoyed being wealthy, she sometimes regretted it. The reasoning was simple; because of her family's high-class position in society, her mother was under the impression that she needed to raise her daughter to be a "proper lady." As a result, almost every aspect of Eiko's life was controlled by her mother. She regulated Eiko's school life, social life, and even her private life in most cases. Eiko had to let her mother know where she was and what she was doing if she ever deviated from the schedule.

Eiko put up with it because she had no choice. Truthfully, she was willing to give up all her riches if it meant she could live a normal life like the rest of her friends. One where she could do what she wanted with her time.

One thing she enjoyed about being in the Program was that her mother could not give her commands while she was in it. Eiko could finally make her own decisions for a change.

After Eiko finished up her breakfast, she carried her plates to the sink in the kitchen. Out of habit, she cleaned them up and put them in the dishwasher. Once she was done with this, she stretched out and yawned.

"Damn, I need a shower," she said to herself, "I suppose I may as well take one while I can."

When she shot Kazuki, some of his blood had gotten on her face. It made her feel especially unclean, and she had just barely managed to tolerate the feeling up until this point.

Eiko picked up her supply pack and backpack and carried them into the bathroom by the master bedroom. She pulled her Colt Peacemaker out of the waistband of her skirt and put it on the counter. Then she turned on the water. As she started undressing, Eiko took a moment to look at herself in the mirror.

After her little skirmish with Kazuki, Eiko was quite a sight. She just knew that her mother would freak out if she saw how messy she looked at this time.

"I'd probably be an inspiration to all the high-class children out there whose lives are delimited by their parents," Eiko remarked.

Eiko soon finished undressing and stepped into the shower. She savored the moment as the warm water surrounded her body.

Eiko had her own plans to win the Program. As soon as she got cleaned up, she would head out into the city and search for her best friend, Ichiko Murakami. She was certain she could trust Ichiko, as the two of them had been friends for a very long time. She looked forward to seeing her best friend again. Her biggest worry was that Ichiko would not be willing to play the game. If that was the case, Eiko would just try to find some way to convince her to play.

Never for a moment did Eiko consider the possibility that Ichiko was already out of the game.

…

Naozumi Matsuno (Boy #20) had already been through most of the apartment complex on the western border of the city. So far, he had spent the entire morning searching the city for a place to hide out. Now that the sun was rising, Naozumi wanted to find some shelter before anyone found him.

Naozumi was one of the last ten people to leave the school. He was half-expecting to be ambushed by one or more of his classmates the moment he stepped outside. But to his relief, the only person there was the soldier standing guard.

He did not take long to decide which direction to run down; only five seconds after he stepped outside, he ran to the west along the right side of the street. He went this way because he had seen his best friend Daisuke Araki (Boy #1) pass by the classroom earlier on, meaning that Daisuke had also dashed off to the west. Naozumi was hoping to meet up with Daisuke somewhere in the city.

After he was a safe distance away from the school, Naozumi checked his supply pack and found he had been given a most peculiar item for a weapon. At first glance, he thought it was some type of old-fashioned hatchet or axe. Had he studied Native American history or had Blaine Rhodes been with him, Naozumi would have known that it was actually a tomahawk.

He kept his weapon at the ready, but he was not certain he could actually bring himself to use it. In fact, he practically felt as if he **knew **he couldn't. However, what really concerned him was that most of his classmates probably knew that as well. If they did, he would be an easy target for an ambitious player.

Naozumi was known by his classmates to be a very sweet and well-behaved boy. Out of all the students in Class 3-A, Naozumi was one of the few that had never been reprimanded by the teachers or referred to the dean's office. He was often commended by the faculty for his conduct and how he set a fine example for the younger classes.

Unfortunately, this earned him the designation of a "teacher's pet" from several of his peers. Some of them even mocked him for being such a "goodie-goodie." However, Naozumi did not care what anyone called him. Whenever someone insulted him, he never let himself be provoked into retaliation. His parents had raised him to believe that the right thing to do was to turn the other cheek. He always upheld this policy.

This made him an easy target for bullying. Some of the more cruel students in his class liked to make a fool of him in public. The worst was Toshirou Oosaki. Toshirou had tormented him ever since elementary school. Sometimes he stalked Naozumi after school and jumped him in any alley. He liked to force Naozumi to cough up some money or to tell him one of his personal secrets. He would often use that against Naozumi in order to get him to do his bidding.

Toshirou sometimes blackmailed Naozumi into helping his gang. One would wonder what Naozumi possibly had that Toshirou and the rest of his gang would want. This was simple: they wanted him for his appearance and stature.

Despite his docile nature, Naozumi was one of the largest students in Class 3-A. Next to Kazumitsu Hayashi, he was probably the strongest student in the entire class as well. One could say that he perfectly fit the description of a "gentle giant." Unfortunately, he could never bring himself to use his strength to fight back. Even though Naozumi was more than capable of defending himself, he literally would not even harm a fly.

However, Toshirou liked to have him around in order to intimidate anyone he and the rest of his gang was negotiating with. Sometimes Kazumitsu's presence was not enough, so having Naozumi there with them improved their credibility. In a way, Naozumi was the unofficial part-time seventh member of Osamu Sano's gang.

Sometimes, Osamu would even offer Naozumi a share of the group's profits. But Naozumi would always refuse; he did not want to be given illegally-earned money.

One time, Naozumi told Daisuke about how Toshirou was exploiting him. Even though Naozumi did not ask him to intervene, Daisuke confronted Toshirou later that same day and demanded that he stop taking advantage of his friend. In response, Toshirou shoved Daisuke into a locker and broke his left wrist. It took weeks for it to heal.

After this incident, Naozumi repeatedly apologized to Daisuke for getting him involved, but Daisuke assured him everything was alright and that he harbored no ill feelings. After all, best friends always looked out for each other, and Naozumi had gotten him Daisuke out of numerous unpleasant situations in the past.

Naozumi was just hoping that he and Daisuke would be able to rely on each other again. The whole reason Naozumi was on the west side on the city was because he had seen Daisuke head this way. His number one objective had been to find Daisuke before doing anything else.

As he entered E-2, Naozumi began to wonder if his search for Daisuke was a lost cause. After all, the city encompassed a region of one hundred square miles. It had taken him over four hours just to search five zones. At this rate, it would take him at least three whole days to search the entire city. But he would also have to stop to eat and get some rest at regular intervals. When factoring that into account, it would take him no less than four and a-half days to be all over the city. There was also the fact that he would have to take some detours should he encounter anyone in the class who was playing the game. He had already decided that he would avoid them like the plague. But he had no idea how far behind that would put him in his search.

Naozumi stepped out of the street and leaned against a lamppost. He muttered under his breath "Maybe by some miracle, Daisuke will just appear out of nowhere and save me the trouble of looking for him. That'll be the day!"

Naozumi did not believe in miracles, but he did believe in dumb luck. That was what motivated him into believing that he could actually find Daisuke.

He looked down at the weapon in his hand. Even though he was not certain he could use it, he was at least glad that it could **make **him look intimidating. If he held it menacingly enough, he could scare away anyone who meant him harm.

Naozumi was about to turn around when he heard a voice call out from down the block. It went "Naozumi, is that you?"

Naozumi looked all over the area for the source of the voice, keeping his tomahawk brandished in case of an attack.

After a moment, he called out "Who's there! Show yourself!"

When he was facing the opposite side of the street, he heard the voice again. This time it said in a very collected tone "Look up."

Naozumi did not know what to think, but something about this voice assured him that he would be alright. So Naozumi lifted his head upwards. He saw a figure standing on a third-floor patio.

It was Kenzou Iwamoto (Boy #3). Kenzou was one of the few people in Class 3-A who could rival Naozumi in a contest of strength, even though Kenzou was not as enormous as him. However, unlike Naozumi, Kenzou was more than willing to use his strength when the situation called for it. Naozumi knew this very well, which encouraged him to be a little more cautious.

"Kenzou, what are you doing up there?" queried Naozumi.

"If you must know, I'm standing lookout," Kenzou answered simply.

"'Lookout?'" repeated Naozumi, keeping his eyes fixed on the patio. It occurred to him that whenever someone stood lookout, they were often not alone. After all, why would one need to look out for anything when one only had to protect one's self?

"Yup, it's my turn," Kenzou confirmed as he lead against the metal balustrade. He had his arms folded as he rested on them. In his hand, he was holding a small device. It was too small to be any type of pistol or handgun, but from Naozumi's point of view, it appeared to be shaped by one.

"Does that mean you're not alone?'" asked Naozumi.

"No, far from it," responded Kenzou, "The others are downstairs getting some rest."

"Who all is with you?"

"Including myself, there're four of us total," Kenzou informed him, "I'm here with Shuuichi, Tsukasa, and Daisuke."

Naozumi suddenly felt a wave of respite come over him. Not only had he found his best friend, but his best friend was also in the company of other members of their class. Naozumi needed to make certain he did not mishear Kenzou. He asked him "Did you say Daisuke is with you?"

Kenzou just chuckled and nodded his head, saying "Yes, he's here alright. He's been worried sick about you for the past several hours."

At school, people had often made jokes about how close Daisuke and Naozumi were. Kenzou was not one of these people, but all the same, it made Naozumi wonder if he decided to start being one. He raised an eyebrow and sharply remarked "You're not making fun of me, are you?"

"No, of course not," Kenzou assured him, taking on a more serious expression to prove his point. He stood up straight and told him "Stay right there. I'll be right back."

Naozumi just nodded his head and watched as Kenzou turned around and stepped through the sliding glass door on the patio. After he disappeared, Naozumi was alone once more. However, Naozumi felt that this would not be the case for long. So he stood waiting patiently for Kenzou to return, keeping his eyes focused on the patio.

About a minute later, he heard a door creak open. Naozumi brought his eyes back down to ground level and saw the front door on the apartment was being opened. Someone stepped outside a moment later. It was Daisuke!

Naozumi burst into a wide grin when he saw his best friend in front of him; Daisuke grinned just as widely in return. Naozumi approached the door and placed his hands on Daisuke's shoulders; Daisuke did the same thing to Naozumi with his hands. This was the way they liked to greet each other; they thought of this as their "manly" hug.

"Good to see you," Daisuke told his tall friend.

"Good nothing, it's **great **to see you, man," Naozumi responded, "I've been looking everywhere for you."

"Well, your search is over!" Daisuke slyly pointed out. He stepped out of the door frame and told his friend "Come on inside. We've plenty of room."

Naozumi did not have to be told twice. He stepped through the front door; Daisuke followed, making sure to close and lock the door behind him.

"Come this way," Daisuke instructed Naozumi as he gestured down the hall, "I'll introduce you to the company."

Daisuke led Naozumi into the living room, which was connected to the kitchen. Three of their male classmates were gathered there. Kenzou was one of them. The other two were Shuuichi Kai (Boy #7) and Tsukasa Yoshizawa (Boy #22)

Shuuichi was sitting at a high chair by the kitchen counter. In his hands, he was using a dishtowel to polish his designated weapon, a handgun. Tsukasa was sitting at a comfortable chair near the center of the room. He had also received a gun as a weapon, but he had gotten a rifle. The rifle was actually so large that it had come in pieces. Tsukasa was trying to build it using the instruction manual. However, he was not having much luck.

Kenzou noticed this and scoffed in amusement. He remarked "You **still **don't have that thing set up, Tsukasa?"

Tsukasa flashed him an angry glare and retorted "Give me a break, Kenzou; I've never handled a gun before."

Shuuichi looked up from his handgun and looked at Tsukasa from across the room. He told him "You could just let me set it up for you; it would save you a lot of time."

"Thanks, but I'd rather it be assembled by the only person I trust completely," Tsukasa replied.

Naozumi raised an eyebrow and asked "Who might that be?"

"Myself, you fool!" Tsukasa sharply retorted, looking up in his direction.

At that moment, there was a short silence. Shuuichi and Kenzou looked over towards the entrance of the room and saw Naozumi Matsuno had just entered.

"Oh, hey Naozumi," Shuuichi greeted the tall boy, "Glad you could join us."

"Pleasure's all mine, Shuuichi," Naozumi remarked as he stepped further into the room.

At this time, Tsukasa was digging through his supply pack for a component to his rifle. Naozumi was walking directly past him with his tomahawk in his left hand. When Tsukasa sat up, the front blade of the tomahawk just bared missed his ear. He jumped in alarm and edged himself away. Kenzou and Daisuke got a good laugh out of his reaction.

"Watch where you hold that thing!" Tsukasa shouted in irritation, "You could slice someone's head open with it!"

Naozumi was shocked by his carelessness. He turned to Tsukasa and told him "I'm really sorry. I don't know what I was thinking."

"Well, make certain you **are **thinking!" Tsukasa yelled.

"Hey, leave him alone, Tsukasa!" Daisuke warned, "He's my best friend."

"I know damn well he's your best friend," said Tsukasa as he returned his attention to his rifle, "Maybe now that he's finally here, you can finally shut up about him."

Naozumi was starting to worry that he had done something to offend Tsukasa. Kenzou noticed this and told him "Don't mind Tsukasa; it's easy to get on his nerves. Just as easy as it is for him to get on everyone else's nerves."

Naozumi took a moment to examine the scenario in perspective. He felt he had just joined a most unusual and questionable group. He and Daisuke had never really interacted with the other three boys back at school. In fact, he had never even seen Kenzou, Shuuichi, or Tsukasa interact with each other, as they had very different interests.

Kenzou was a typical jock. He had a fondness for competitive sports, most notable rugby. Tsukasa was the head of the school's drama club, and he co-directed all the plays with the department's instructor. Shuuichi was the most studious of the three. He was not a bookworm, but he had a fondness for learning new material.

For the moment, Naozumi was just glad he had found Daisuke. If some of his classmates were still cooperating with each other, there may have been hope for them after all. Maybe miracles really did exist. Just maybe.

…

While Osamu was glad he had regrouped with his friends, he now had another problem: survival. Even though he and his friends had more experience in crime than anyone else in their class, it was not often that they were in life-threatening danger. They were smart enough to avoid those types of encounters back home.

Osamu was still amazed that his friends had managed to meet up beforehand. They explained how this had happened.

As it turned out, Kaminari had snuck Toshirou a note before she left the school; she instructed him to meet up at the supermarket in H-6. Once they rendezvoused there, they agreed to head back north in order to look for the others.

Reika had stayed behind and hid in the shadows. She let Naozumi Matsuno and Ichiko Murakami pass her by. When Gakuto left the school a couple minutes later, Reika emerged and called out to him. They decided to head east. After walking for about a mile, they found Kazumitsu searching through an alley.

The five of them managed to meet up entirely by coincidence in D-7. They decided to stay out of the apartment complexes for the time being, as they were certain that most of their classmates would go for the apartments first. After searching through the area for a while, they found the bar and decided to make it their temporary headquarters.

Now the group was whole. Now they could properly focus on survival.

"I don't suppose anybody's got any bright ideas?" Osamu opened the discussion.

"Ask Gakuto, he's the smart one," Toshirou drily remarked.

"I don't know whether to be honored or insulted by that, Toshirou," stated Gakuto.

"Well, he's right; you come up with the best plans," Kaminari commented.

Gakuto scoffed and said "I guess so. I actually have a few ideas for how we can develop some makeshift weapons."

Kazumitsu stepped forward and said "Great, I was hoping for that. Maybe you can find a good use for this flamethrower of mine?"

"Actually, I do have an idea," Gakuto replied, "I'll explain it in a moment."

As he talked, Gakuto slid his hands into his jacket pockets. He froze when he discovered that they were both empty. He took his hands out and slapped his pockets a few times. They were definitely empty. He normally kept his cell phone in one of them. But it was gone.

"Shit," Gakuto muttered, looking around the room, "Where the hell is my cell phone?"

"Your cell phone?" said Osamu, "Why'd you have that out?"

"I tried to contact Reika earlier with it," Gakuto explained as he continued looking around the room, "Furutani was the one who answered on the other line. After I hung up on him, I must have put it down somewhere."

Kaminari was still seated at the counter and leaning back against it. She casually looked over her shoulder. Then she saw that Gakuto's phone was on the counter.

She just scoffed, picked it up and held it out to Gakuto, telling him "Here, Gakuto."

Gakuto quickly calmed down and took back his phone. He thanked Kaminari as he slid it back into the pocket of his jacket.

"You should really keep an eye on that thing," Kaminari advised him, "I'm certain you remember what happened last time you lost it."

Gakuto sighed and remarked "As much as I'd like to forget, I do remember."

This deserves a little explanation. You may recall that earlier, it was addressed that Gakuto was the only member of the gang that had ever been arrested. This was directly related to the last occasion on which he lost his cell phone.

Seven months earlier, on a fairly normal day, Gakuto had been walking home from school. While he was walking through the city, Kazumitsu called him to talk about the heist they had planned for later that week. Gakuto decided to step into an alley so that no one on the streets would overhear him. After discussing the details of the plan with Kazumitsu for about ten minutes, Gakuto hung up and slid his phone into his pocket. However, he was not looking at his phone when he put it away; it had only entered his pocket partway. When Gakuto straightened out his jacket, his phone fell out of his pocket and landed on the ground. The phone was in a padded casing, so Gakuto did not hear it hit the ground. He just walked out of the alley and returned home without making another stop.

That night, another person crossed through that alley. It was a young woman in her early twenties. She was just walking home after having dinner with some friends. As it turned out, some of the local Yakuza had been hanging around that same alley. When they spotted the woman coming down the alley, they hid from sight. As she walked past them, they jumped her and tried to steal her handbag. When she refused, they beat her and raped her. Once they were finished having their way with her, they left their victim face down and almost stark naked on the ground.

Later on, the woman was found by the police. After admitting her to the hospital, they quarantined the scene of the crime and began looking up suspects. The day after the crime, they went over the scene carefully. The only thing they found that could be used as evidence was a cell phone.

The police soon found that the phone belonged to Gakuto Yamashita. In some places, Gakuto would have just been dismissed from the police's suspicions, as he was only fifteen years old. However, rape was a serious crime in Fujisawa, so all potential suspects were treated the same way.

When Gakuto got home that day, he found the police waiting there for him. He was arrested on the spot and hauled off to the station for questioning.

At first, Gakuto thought that the police had finally caught on to his gang's criminal activities. Fortunately, he was too smart to lose his composure, so he acted as if he had no idea what was going on. When he found out that the police were actually investigating a rape, he realized that he really **didn't **have any idea what was going on.

Gakuto had no criminal record, but his behavioral record at school indicated that he had been involved in several fights. That was enough for the police to find grounds for Gakuto's arrest.

Gakuto did submit an alibi: he had been at his friend Osamu's house studying on the night of the crime. This was partly true. He had been at Osamu's house, but they were not studying; they were working out the details of the aforementioned heist.

Gakuto had only noticed that morning that his phone was missing. He was horrified to discover that he had dropped it at the scene of the crime. While he and his friends could be violent at times, they did not advocate rape or murder.

The rape case was on the evening news that day. Gakuto was listed as their only lead so far. Everything the police knew about him was on the report, including his alibi. Almost all of Fujisawa knew of his implication in the crime overnight.

Gakuto was held at the station overnight. Fortunately, the following day, Osamu visited the station and validated Gakuto's alibi. Osamu had hesitated to come forward at first, but after seeing the report on the news, he decided that he was not going to let his friend be framed for a crime he did not commit.

Before they even considered letting Gakuto go, the police took a picture of him to the rape victim while she was still in the hospital and asked him if she recognized him. The woman responded that she did not recognize Gakuto's face at all, and that the men who attacked her were older and bigger.

Soon after this, the police released Gakuto from their custody and issued him an official apology for the misunderstanding. The actual culprits were eventually apprehended, but the damage had already been done to Gakuto's image. While most people at school treated him no differently, the rest began to think that Gakuto was more than capable of committing a rape.

Gakuto did not care if anyone actually thought of him as a potential rapist; he knew that some people were just ignorant enough to believe that rumor. However, from that day on, he always made certain to keep a closer eye on his cell phone.

After Gakuto slid his cell phone into his jacket pocket, he told the others "On the subject of cell phones, there's something I think you all should know."

"What might that be?" queried Kazumitsu.

"I… I think that somehow… Furutani and the soldiers are listening," Gakuto responded.

The others were alarmed to hear this hypothesis. Osamu asked his friend "How can you be certain?"

"Before I called Reika, I talked about how the cell phones are all indirectly connected by the planet's satellite web and how it theoretically would be difficult for the Program officials to prevent us from making local calls with our cell phones,"Gakuto explained, "When Furutani picked up the phone, he addressed the errors in my theory. So, how would he have known about my theory in the first place?"

"I guess he **is** somehow listening to us," Toshirou agreed, "But how is he managing that?"

"I don't know," Gakuto replied, "But let's not worry about that for now. Right now, we still have plans to discuss."

Before Gakuto could say another word, a loud distorted noise filled the air.

"What's that?" said Reika.

"It sounds like… a loudspeaker," Kazumitsu answered.

"A loudspeaker?" stated Kaminari, "Why would we be hearing a loudspeaker?"

"Wait, what time is it?" asked Gakuto.

Toshirou fished out his watch from his supply pack and answered "It's six o'clock on the dot. So that means…"

"Shhh, quiet down!" Osamu instructed the others, "The morning announcements are beginning!"

…

Before the game began, loudspeakers had been installed all throughout the city, as well as the surveillance system. Like the cameras, the loudspeakers could be found both inside all the buildings and outside along all the streets. Unlike the cameras, the loudspeakers had been inactive up until this point. For the first time since the Program began, they came online.

The voice of Shigenori Furutani resonated from the loudspeakers. He announced "Rise and shine, young warriors! I hope you are well-rested. You'll need to be attentive and organized in order to compete properly. I'm also very pleased that some of you have already gotten into the game."

Furutani paused for a moment. Then he said "If possible, try to confine your activities to areas with more than one camera. The multiple-angle shots will make for some juicy footage when the DVD comes out."

Furutani was still in the high school, but he had moved to a different room. He was now in the teacher's lounge. Several of the soldiers were with him; they had set up multiple computer terminals there. Presently, they were monitoring the game from these terminals. Furutani was standing near the center of the room. As he held a microphone in his right hand, he held a piece of paper with his left hand. The paper had the title "Program Obituary" on the top.

"Now then, on to the list of the dead," Furutani announced, looking over the sheet, "This is in the order they died. First, Girl #20, Murakami Ichiko-san. I must say, I was rather stunned by how that scenario with her turned out; I was certain she would have made the first kill instead of being the first killed. Oh well, I suppose nothing should be taken for granted.

"Next, Boy #13, Chikuda Kazuki-kun," Furutani continued, "A shame to see such an eager participant go down so quickly. At least he managed to bring a fair share of comic relief to the party before he fell. Boy #8, Koumura Wataru-kun. Tsk, tsk; I thought athletes were supposed to never let their guard down. I expected more from the captain of the school's rugby team. Girl #7 Ozawa Misaki-san. The class ingénue succumbs to a certain form of temptation and it subsequently consumes her. That seems appropriate enough. Next, Girl #6, Oomori Yasuko-san and Boy #15, Niwa Mamoru-kun. Normally, I do not approve of suicides. But I'll give the two of them some credit for their homage to Yukio Mishima, as well as that spicy scene in the bedroom. That will definitely make this year's highlight reel.

"Last but not least, Girl #11, Suda Chieko-san," the Program instructor finished, "On the subject of tragic figures, I was very pleased that this year's first betrayal was between the Class Vice-President and her anonymous killer. I hope to see a few more of those in the near future."

"We have a total of seven dead," Furutani went on, "Not bad for the first few hours, but I think you can do better. Now, on to the danger zones. As of 0700 Hours, H-7 is a danger zone. At 0900 Hours, I-4 is one as well. At 1100 Hours, E-2 becomes one. I'd advise you to you mark these down. In the past, some Program contestants were imprudent enough to forget about the danger zones and were unable to get out of them in time. I hope none of you are that foolish."

Furutani then crossed over to a comfortable chair next to the wall and sat down in it. He wrapped up the morning announcements with this: "Now that the sun is up, I expect you to be on your guard. I also expect you to try to **catch **people off their guard. I have high hopes for some of you already. But I must remind you: whoever kills Master Blaine Rhodes is automatically exempt from the game. Try to take advantage of that option while it's still available."

After a momentary pause, he said "Until the noon announcements, I bid you all good luck!"

Then the loudspeakers went back offline, leaving the city in unpleasant silence once more.

…

Eiko Hirakawa had just stepped out of the shower when the morning announcements began. She was in the midst of drying her hair with a towel when Furutani started listed off the obituary.

Once Ichiko Murakami was mentioned, Eiko froze in her place.

"This can't be…" Eiko muttered in utter disbelief, "I must have misheard him…"

Of all forty-five students in Class 3-A, Ichiko was the first of them to die. Eiko could not believe that. Such a thing seemed impossible to her. Her best friend had never hurt anyone in her life. She was always so sweet and compassionate to everyone who came her way.

In addition to this, Ichiko was the only one of Eiko's friends that her parents approved of. She was the only one of their daughter's friends that they allowed into their house. Eiko did not know why that was; Ichiko just seemed to get along with her parents very well.

Now Ichiko was gone. Her best friend was dead.

Eiko was so distraught that she did not even pay attention to the rest of the morning announcements. She did not note down the other casualties nor did she mark down the designated danger zones. She was too much taken by shock and despair.

At that moment, something changed in Eiko. She suddenly felt consumed by malice and anger. It was almost as if a demon awoke inside her.

Eiko's eyes fell across her Colt Peacemaker. She picked it up and gazed at her reflection in the mirror. She held it over her chest and pointed it off to the side.

She made quite a sight. She was still totally naked and slightly wet from her shower, and she bore an expression of rage and brandished her revolver in an equally menacing manner. In a way, it made her look like an agent of the devil.

Eiko decided on the spot that she would find Ichiko's killer. She did not know how she could do this, but she vowed she would get it done. She would avenge her best friend, even if she had to take down every single one of her classmates to accomplish this objective.

**38 Students Remaining**


	14. According To Plan

Eiko Hirakawa was not the only one saddened by the knowledge that some people in the class were already playing. In fact, most of the other students were flabbergasted.

Blaine Rhodes and his three present allies were particularly stunned by the last person on the list of the dead.

"Chieko… is dead?" Tatsuo Inoue (Boy #2) whispered, "That can't be; I must have misheard him. There's no way Chieko can be out already."

"If you misheard Furutani, then the three of us did as well, Tatsuo," Yuuga Suzuki (Boy #11) pointed out, "As much as I do not like to believe it, she must be gone."

Tatsuo reluctantly nodded his head. As much as he wished he had misheard Furutani, he knew that denying it would not bring Chieko back.

"At least Genji is still alive," Kiyomi Takayama (Girl #12) remarked, "And Asayo and Yuriye."

"For now," Yuuga added in, "The list will only expand overtime. It's not just there to remind us who is still out there; it's also there as a way to make certain we are alert."

They then took a moment to reflect on the other people who died within the past six hours.

"Truthfully, I'm not very surprised about Misaki and Kazuki," Yuuga told the others, "In most of the Programs, the antisocial people do not last long."

"Is that true, Yuuga?" said Kiyomi, "You value solitude over almost anyone else, and you're still alive."

"That is true," Yuuga agreed, "And I plan to keep it that way. I suppose I'm just lucky I'm not as withdrawn as the others."

"Still, Kazuki was the second one to die?" Blaine stated quietly. He could still fully imagine Kazuki's face with that crazed expression across it from what happened back in the classroom.

"I actually wasn't expecting him to last long," Tatsuo flatly commented, "And serves him right anyway."

For the briefest moment, Blaine wanted to punch his best friend in the face. But he restrained himself and merely said through gritted teeth "Tatsuo, how could you say such a thing?"

"The guy tried to kill you, Blaine!" Tatsuo retorted.

"That doesn't make him any more deserving of death than the rest of us!" Blaine shouted, "No one deserves to die like this. Not even Kazuki."

Tatsuo took a moment to think about this. Then he sighed and declared "I suppose you're right, Blaine. I take back what I said about Kazuki."

"What about Mamoru and Yasuko?" asked Kiyomi, "Furutani said that they both killed themselves. You don't think they did it together, do you?"

"They probably did," stated Yuuga, "Back in the classroom, while Furutani was dismissing us, I saw Mamoru write something down on a piece of paper. Then he passed it to Tamayo and wordlessly asked her to give it to Yasuko. Tamayo agreed. I am almost positive Mamoru was instructing Yasuko to meet up with him somewhere in the city."

"How did you manage to see Mamoru passing the note in the first place?" queried Tatsuo.

"Tamayo sits right in front of me, remember?" Yuuga responded, "And she sits directly between Mamoru and Yasuko. It's been that way all year."

"Oh, that's right," Tatsuo remarked, quickly recalling the class seating arrangement.

"What about Ichiko?" stated Blaine, "I'm amazed that she was the first one to die. How do you suppose that happened?"

Kiyomi realized that neither she nor Yuuga had explained how she had gotten shot in the first place. She was hoping to just forget about the ordeal altogether, but she knew full well it could not be avoided. Blaine would certainly want to know who shot her, and Kiyomi could not bring herself to make up a story or lie to her boyfriend.

She took a deep breath and began with "Blaine?"

He turned to her immediately. "Yes?"

"About Ichiko…" Kiyomi tentatively advanced, "I know how she died."

"Really?" said Tatsuo, nudging a little closer to her in interest.

Kiyomi looked away from her two closest male friends and turned to Yuuga. He could clearly see that she was very anxious about revealing the truth of Ichiko's fate. As much as he wanted to help her, he could not. After all, his knowledge of what happened was minimal, if not nonexistent. So for the moment, Kiyomi was on her own.

She slowly turned back to Blaine and Tatsuo. Then she pulled her revolver out of the waistband of her skirt and told them "This wasn't my weapon to begin with. It was Ichiko's."

"It was?" stated Tatsuo.

"Yes, she was the one who shot me," Kiyomi informed him and Blaine, noting the look of surprise on the latter's face. "Originally, my weapon was a meat cleaver."

"Where is it now?" asked Blaine.

Kiyomi was not certain how to fully answer that question without being blunt or direct. She hesitated to answer it at all, but she knew that she could not hide the truth. She looked away and replied with "Imbedded in the side of Ichiko's face."

She was unable to look Blaine in the eye when she said that. If she had, she would have been heartbroken by his facial expression. He was shocked, frozen with alarm and perplexity. Truthfully, she could not blame him. She felt she probably deserved it anyway.

When she managed to muster the courage to turn back to him, she began welling up. She told Blaine "I didn't mean to kill her. She was going to kill me, but I just wanted to stop her. All I tried to do was punch her. But my grip on the handle slipped! I hand no idea what was going on!"

When Blaine did not reply, Kiyomi felt overcome with despair. She had only known him for nine months, but he was such an important aspect of her life at this time. If he turned his back on her, she did not know what she would do. She whispered softly and pleadingly "Please, Blaine, don't hate me. If I could take back what happened, I would. I really would. I-"

Before she could say another word, Blaine took Kiyomi by the shoulders and pulled her close. He held her firmly in his strong arms, trying hard to pacify her qualms. Kiyomi soon felt an overwhelming wave of relief wash over her. She had not lost an ally after all.

When Blaine came apart, he told her "You said yourself it was an accident, Kiyomi. I believe you. If you wanted to lie to me, you would have just made up a story about how you got shot. But you didn't; you told me the full truth. So I believe you when you say it was an accident."

Kiyomi dried her eyes and sniffed once. Then she said "Thank you, Blaine."

"For what?" he asked.

"For not turning on me," she clarified, "I was worried that you might actually do something like that."

"Kiyomi, at a time like this, I could never turn on you," he assured her, "But what really concerns me is that you said Ichiko tried to kill you. She was actually playing?"

Kiyomi nodded her head and said "Yes. She actually looked as if she was losing her mind. She said a lot of things about being the last person in her family line, and that if she died, her lineage died with her. She was using that as her justification for playing the game and surviving."

"Everyone tries to make up their own reasons for playing the game, apart from survival," Yuuga pointed out, "But still, before the Program, Ichiko was always so kind and open to everyone. If she was willing to play the game…"

"Then everyone else might be willing, as well!" Tatsuo finished for him.

It was at this moment when Blaine Rhodes began to realize the full scope of damage the Program was capable of inflicting onto its contestants. He also realized that anyone could succumb to the pressure, even the people he was closest to.

But he was not going to give up on Tatsuo, Kiyomi, or Yuuga. He was certain he could trust them. At the very least, he hoped he could. Only time would tell how everything would play out.

…

Everywhere on the planet, breaking and entering is viewed as a serious felony. It is a violation of property rights and privacy rights. The consequence for breaking and entering varies, depending on how severely it is committed by the perpetrator. If the purpose was robbery, the culprit would be given a particularly hefty fine. If the purpose was murder, the culprit would be imprisoned for life. If the purpose was espionage or treason, capital punishment would most likely be the sentence.

Of course, under certain conditions, such as the Program, breaking and entering could be committed without any worry of repercussions. After all, if assault and murder could be excused, what **couldn't** be?

Tamayo Shintani (Girl #10) was making the most of this exception to the rule. She was standing outside of the private apartment complex in D-1. She was in the midst of using her weapon – a monkey wrench – to twist off the padlock to the private apartments' front gate. Even though Tamayo had never handled tools before outside of engineering class, the wrench was easy enough for her to use.

Before long, Tamayo managed to use her wrench to break off the bolt on the top of the padlock. Once this was accomplished, Tamayo pulled off the locking mechanism. Then she turned the latch on the gate and pulled it open. She had successfully committed the crime of breaking and entering.

Tamayo was not seeking shelter in the private apartments; up until fifteen minutes earlier, she had been resting inside a nearby apartment building. Tamayo had spent most of the night indoors, as she did not want to risk encountering any of her classmates while it was still dark out. Now that the sun had risen, she could see everything around her and she decided it was safe to go outside. She could see much more clearly, and if she happened to see any of her classmates now, she decided that she would just avoid them.

Tamayo had a much different objective than most of her classmates. She was focusing on surviving, but she was not playing the game. Instead, she was spending her time digging for proverbial treasure. By this, she intended to spend her time jewel-hunting.

Tamayo had a deep fondness for jewels. Diamonds, emeralds, rubies, sapphires, the works. She had her own personal collection of them back home. She was taking advantage of the situation to expand her collection. She decided that while her classmates were busy hiding, fighting, or killing each other, she would go around the city and look for precious stones.

She decided to start in the private apartment complex in D-1. After all, those apartments were most often occupied by upper-class citizens with high income levels. Tamayo would be astounded if they did not have some form of jewelry on hand.

Of course, it had occurred to Tamayo that the tenants might have taken along all of their valuables before they were evacuated. But she was not about to pass up an opportunity like this.

Tamayo started at the first building to the right of the gates. It was locked, but that did not stop Tamayo. She bashed the doorknob with her wrench over and over until it broke off, thus dismantling the lock at the same time. She easily pushed the door open after this.

Tamayo was probably the most laidback out of all the students. She knew people were dying elsewhere in the city, she knew she was fighting for her life, and she knew there was a chance she would not live to see Kanagawa again. She knew all these things, but she still retained her composure. She hadn't a care in the world.

Truth be told, she was like this back home as well. She never concerned herself with other people's problems. She was always looking out for herself, but rarely took a moment to think about another person's well-being.

Why was she like this, one might wonder? The reasoning is quite simple: she was raised this way.

Tamayo's father was an entrepreneur in the banking industry. He had become hugely successful due to his high position and professional business dealings. He was nowhere near as rich as Eiko Hirakawa's father, but he definitely made more money than most other middle-class families.

Because of his success, he saw the need to share his fortune with his daughter. So he smothered Tamayo with virtually everything a girl could want, such as money, attention, and love. Basically, Tamayo was a spoiled Daddy's Girl.

Tamayo's upbringing had led her to believe that no one else's well-being was worth her time. But this was not her fault; it was her father's. Spoiled children often grow up thinking that the world revolves around them. Tamayo thought this before the Program, and she certainly thought it while she was in it.

Her upbringing also made her into a rather greedy person as well. She was one of those people who always have a desire for more. More what, you might ask? More everything, really. Whenever Tamayo wanted anything, she did not have to ask more than twice. Her father always got it for her. She did not ask for much, but if she wanted it, her father would get it for her. She was his pride and joy.

There was only one thing he was unable to get Tamayo in her entire life. This particular thing was a date with Blaine Rhodes.

Like two certain female students that were mentioned earlier, Tamayo had often tried getting Blaine's attention. Unlike these two students, she did not want Blaine simply because he was an American; she wanted him because of his charisma and his diverse talents. The fact that he was an American mad little difference to Tamayo anyway.

Tamayo knew her father could not legally do anything to get Blaine to go out with her, but she told him about her American classmate all the same. She had tried at least half a dozen times to get Blaine to notice her; he always turned down her advances. At the very least, she was grateful that he did it without being rude or yelling at her. But his gentlemanly behavior only made Tamayo want him more.

Eventually, she got over her crush on Blaine. Now she was focusing on her one true love: jewels.

Tamayo made her way into a bedroom on the first floor of the apartment. It appeared to belong to a girl around her age, maybe a few years older, based on all the posters of popular Japanese pop stars across the walls.

Tamayo noticed a small box on the nightstand next to the bed. She made her way over to it, picked it up, and popped it open.

Inside was a diamond ring. The light sparkled across the translucent top, making it sparkle in Tamayo's greedy eyes. Tamayo examined the diamond closely and muttered under her breath "This is definitely real. It must be worth at least ten carat. Whoever lives here has really nice taste."

Tamayo slipped the ring onto her index finger. She held out her hand and smiled, saying "I suppose I do as well."

Tamayo was a girl who really knew her jewels. She could identify their value, their age, and a number of other things by just examining them visually. She knew diamonds enough that they almost **were **her best friends.

"Guess I'll check the master bedroom upstairs next."

Tamayo walked out of the room and made her way to the stairwell. She slowly ascended the steps, humming a tune as she walked along.

However, as she reached the top of the stairs, a very unpleasant odor filled the air. Tamayo coughed violently and held her nose for a few moments.

"What is that **stench**?" she remarked in disgust, "Did someone die in here or something?"

Tamayo did her best to ignore the smell and move on. When she got to the master bedroom, she found the answer to her question: a definite yes.

Mamoru Niwa and Yasuko Oomori were in that room. They were lying under the sheets of the bed, wrapped in each other's arms. They had been dead for over an hour. Tamayo was so surprised that she backed into the wall out of alarm.

She remembered that Mamoru and Yasuko had been listed as dead in the morning announcements. She had no idea that she would run into them here of all places.

Tamayo was repulsed, but strangely determined to find out what happened. She took a deep breath and stepped inside the room. There were clothes strewn about the floor. They were blue and red with some white; they were the standard uniforms of Keio Shonan-Fujisawa Junior High School students.

Tamayo noticed a pitcher of green tea on one of the nightstands, and an empty prescription bottle on the other one. She picked up the bottle and read the label out loud "Barbiturates."

Tamayo's knowledge of prescription drugs was limited, but she did now that Barbiturates were frequently used as sedatives. She also knew that overdosing on them would often result in death, as she knew that the American actresses Marilyn Monroe and Judy Garland both died of Barbiturate overdose.

Tamayo put the bottle down and looked at her two late classmates. She could not help but feel partially responsible for their deaths.

Tamayo had always sat between Mamoru and Yasuko throughout the school year. Back at the school in C-5, while Furutani was calling out the role, Mamoru had handed Tamayo a folded piece of paper and – without speaking – asked her to give it to Yasuko. Even though Tamayo was not compelled to take orders from anyone, she gave it to Yasuko all the same.

"That paper must have been a note to meet up here," Tamayo reasoned out, "Shame they had to die this way."

Tamayo was not upset because her classmates were dead; she was actually appalled by how easily the two of them had given up. Tamayo would never take the easy way out of the Program by committing suicide. To her, that was a coward's tactic.

However, she did not plan to kill anyone either, unless it was absolutely necessary. She was mostly counting on all her classmates to kill each other while she increased her jewel collection. But all the same, she wanted to be prepared.

She found Mamoru's Walther P88 and Yasuko's can of bear mace on the nightstands. She decided to take both of them along, just in case she encountered anyone playing. She found the extra ammunition cases in Mamoru's supply pack, and took them along as well. Then she left the room, saying over her shoulder "You two have a nice rest."

After this, she searched the rest of the private apartments in D-1 for more jewelry. She came up with over a dozen finds across all the buildings. Once she was done, she took out her map and studied it closely

"Looks like there's a mansion on the other side of the city," she thought aloud, "I guess I'll head there next."

She walked out through the front gate and began to make her way back into the city.

…

Rumi Hakugi (Girl #16) and Namiko Abe (Girl #1) had been keeping a relatively low profile over the past couple hours. Now they were back in the fray. They were in hot pursuit of their next target.

Rumi had the tracking device out in her hand; she held it so that both she and Namiko could get a good look at the grid. About fifteen minutes earlier, the two of them had crossed over into E-3. As soon as they did, the tracker picked up a signal besides their own for the first time in hours.

This signal was moving at a casual pace towards the south. In terms of scale, it had to be at least one thousand meters away. Rumi and Namiko were more than willing to follow the signal.

When they were about five hundred meters away, the signal started moving at a quicker pace. It vanished a moment later, but only because it had crossed over into F-3. Namiko and Rumi ran a little faster until they reached F-3. They picked the signal up again. But now, it was moving at a very rapid pace.

Rumi and Namiko were not about to let the target get away; they broke into a run after it.

"Like chasing a frightened rabbit, huh?" remarked Namiko.

"Yeah, I'd say so," Rumi answered as they ran.

Before long, the signal crossed over into G-3 and disappeared again. When Rumi and Namiko entered that zone, they picked it up again. The signal continued heading south at a fast pace. Rumi and Namiko followed it all the way into H-3, and then into I-3. However, by the time Rumi and Namiko entered I-3, the signal was almost near the zone's southern border.

It was here that Rumi and Namiko paused to catch their breath. They kept their attention focused on the tracker.

A moment later, the signal approached the southern border of I-3 and moved into J-3. It was gone once more.

"Damn, this person's fast!" Rumi gasped between breaths.

"Maybe it's Tomoe," Namiko theorized as she wiped her brow, "After all, she's on the school's track team."

"That's a reasonable hypothesis," stated Rumi, "But I don't care who that is as much as how we find them. I suggest we use a little more stealth from this point on."

"Good idea," Namiko agreed.

After the two of them caught their breath, they continued making their way south.

It wasn't long before they reached the southern border of I-3. From there, they crossed over into J-3, and the third signal reappeared. But according to the tracker, it was only a few meters away!

However, that was not the first thing Rumi noticed. The first thing she noticed was that the screen blinked rapidly a few times just when they moved into J-3. She stopped and paused to investigate this.

"Everything alright, Rumi?" Namiko asked her best friend.

"I think so," Rumi replied, "It's just… A moment ago, the screen flashed, as if it was malfunctioning. The tracking device looked as if it was having trouble identifying all the signals in the area."

"That almost sounds as if it suffered a glitch or something," Namiko noted, "But I wouldn't worry about it. As long as it registers another signal in the area, I'm okay with its performance."

Rumi agreed with this idea.

It was then that they noted that the signal was directly in front of them. It was coming from the building on the opposite side of the street – a fitness center.

"How ironic," commented Rumi, "I guess all this running made the person decide to work out some more."

"Could be," said Namiko. The two friend studied the screen and noted that the signal was coming from the front of the building, near the offices.

The two of them proceeded cautiously towards one of the windows along the wall and peaked inside. There they saw one of their male classmates sitting on a bench. He had his supply pack and backpack down at his feet; the latter was open. He was rubbing his head with a towel, as if wiping off sweat. When he lowered the towel, Namiko and Rumi got a good look at his face.

It was Fumitaka Hirata (Boy #17). Namiko and Rumi could see that Fumitaka's face was a little red. He must have been the one they were chasing.

They ducked down below the window and turned to each other, grinning wickedly. They had finally caught up with their target.

However, taking him down would be difficult. Like Wataru, Fumitaka was something of an athlete. He was on the school's track team, and he frequently stayed after school to lift weights. That being said, the girls would have to put in some serious effort in order to get Fumitaka to let his guard down, as his reflexes and attentiveness were top notch.

This may have seemed difficult, but Namiko and Rumi knew it could be done. After all, Fumitaka had a girlfriend. As both Namiko and Rumi knew well, any boy with a girlfriend must have had hormones. That meant that Fumitaka could be seduced.

"How about you take this one?" Namiko offered, "Seeing as how I took Wataru, it's only fair."

"I'd be happy to," Rumi answered deviously. She looked down at the tracker and told her friend "According to this, there are two entrances into that room. I'll go around to building's front entrance and make my way to the right entrance of the office from there. You go around to the building's back entrance and make your way to the left entrance. When I give the signal, come on in and take care of him."

"You want to switch weapons this time?" asked Namiko, holding up her S&W M29.

"Nah, I think it's alright to use the gun this time," Rumi decided, "After all, we're near the southern border of the city. I doubt anyone else is out here. If that's the case, nobody will hear the shot, especially when it's fired from inside a building. Besides, I figure we're going to need the gun eventually. Now's as good a time as any to test it."

"I suppose you're right," Namiko concurred, nodding her head.

The two of them hugged each other, whispered "Good luck," and split up. Before long, the list of the dead would expand.

…

Teru Machida (Boy #19) was still on top of the building at the northern border of D-5. He was glad the sun was finally up; he could see the front entrance to the high school much more clearly now.

He had been going over many different types of strategies in his head. Now he finally decided on one he was comfortable with.

Teru carefully thought over everything. Some of the most crucial bits of information were directly in front of him. In order to sabotage the Program, he needed to attack it at the heart. The heart of the Program was – of course – the high school.

Something occurred to Teru: the high school relied on electricity just as much as any other building in the city. That being said, Teru soon realized that sabotaging the Program would probably be much easier than he thought. If he could somehow find a way to cut off the flow of electricity into the school, he would essentially disable the game. At least temporarily.

Of course, the soldiers might have had some backup generator – in fact, Teru would have been surprised if they did not – but he knew it would take them at least twenty minutes to get it online. A great many things could be done in twenty minutes.

For the present, Teru was still stuck on how he would sever the flow of electricity from the school. After all, he was already as close as he dared get to the school. From this distance, he could not do much.

He would have to find some ulterior method. But that would not be simple. The power plant was located miles outside of the city, and all the current-carrying cables were buried deep in the underground. Accessing them would be impossible.

Then Teru noticed something. There was a satellite dish on top of the school, just outside the front entrance. The school's internet reception must have been independent of the grounded signals. But even if it was, it would have had to be connected to the mainframe which regulated the rest of the school's electricity.

Teru soon got an idea. If he could somehow transmit a disruption signal to the satellite dish, he would be able to cause an overload which would permanently disable the school's primary power source.

Now all he needed to do was find a way to create a disruption signal and how to deliver it to the satellite dish.

"Let's see here…" he muttered under his breath, "How do you make a sickness and then get it to spread around? I guess viruses are hard to come by… Wait. That's it!"

Now Teru knew what he had to do. The word "virus" made him think of computers. Every student at Keio Shonan-Fujisawa Junior High School was required to take a course in computer engineering. Teru thoroughly enjoyed taking this course throughout the previous year. He had learned how to write all different types of programs using the Java syntax. One of things he really liked about the class was the end of the year assignment: the students had to write a basic disruption code that could block the feedback to a website on the internet. Such a code would crash the site on whatever computer it was used on.

Even after he submitted his solutions to the project, Teru continued playing around with the program. He continued making alterations to his amateur disruption code, improving its effectiveness overtime. His disruption code was now so powerful that it could theoretically knock out an entire building's internet reception. Teru always carried the program for the code around in a flash drive. The flash drive was currently tucked away in his jacket pocket. As luck would have it, the soldiers had not confiscated that from him before he woke up in the classroom.

Now all that time Teru committed to enhancing his disruption code would pay off. If he could somehow get his hands on a portable computer and the right kind of software, he would be able to modify the data for the disruption code. As of right then, it would only work on computers. Teru needed to make it so that the code would work on an entire building's power grid. It would take a while to set up that way, but as of right then, Teru felt he had all the time in the world.

The last thing he needed to work out was delivery for the disruption code. As Furutani had emphasized, the internet was down, and all the servers were certain to be restricted. Teru did not have a private server, which was something he immensely regretted at this time. He was certain the soldiers had their own network set up in the school, but Teru did not know how he could access it. After all, his specialty with regards to computers was writing data codes, not hacking.

But it did not take him long to work it all out. The solution to the factor of delivery was currently in his right hand.

Teru looked down at his harpoon rifle. The harpoon itself was made of solid metal, and it could be attached to a cable before being fired. This feature could work to Teru's advantage. If he could find some type of metal cable that extended over a hundred feet, he could attach one end to the harpoon and tie the other end to something on the roof of the building he was on. Then he could fire the harpoon at the school. If he hit his target – the satellite dish – he could then find a way to transmit the disruption code along the cable. Both the cable and the harpoon would be able to transmit the code all the way to the satellite dish, as metals were very good conductors of electricity and electromagnetic waves. Everything would come into place from there.

Of course, this would require a great deal of resources that Teru did not have on hand. He would have to go looking for supplies in the city before he could even hope for this strategy to work. At this time, he was not even certain he would be able to be able to hit his target with his harpoon rifle, as he did not trust his aim well enough.

"I'll need to put together some type of contraption to stabilize the rifle's aim," Teru whispered to himself, "Guess I'll have to set up some type of foundation or apparatus to hold it steady."

Teru began making a list of everything he would need in order to execute this plan. The main things were as following: a laptop, computer software, a metal cable at least 150 feet in length, some lumber, and some power tools. In modern days, most of these were common everyday household items. Teru would have actually been surprised if he could not find them somewhere in the city.

"Let's see here," he muttered under his breath as he studied his map, "According to this, there should be a computer store in B-5 and a carpentry shop in C-7. Guess I'll just swing by there and get what I need."

For the first time in over an hour, Teru rose from his kneeling position. He still had his backpack and supply pack over his shoulders. He gripped his harpoon rifle in both hands and said to himself "Better go run some errands. I don't have all day to get this done."

With that, he turned around and ran over to the room on the top of the roof. There was a door on this room that opened onto a stairwell which connected the roof to all the lower levels. That was how Teru had gotten onto the roof in the first place. He quickly reached the door, opened it up, and began making his way downstairs. He was off in search of materials.

Teru was handling himself much better than most of his classmates. He was certainly a little saddened by the fact that seven of them were already dead. But he put aside his grief for the moment and focused on his objectives. As long as everything went right, he was confident that his plan would work. And if it did, there was a chance that he could save everyone else.

…

Back in E-2, Naozumi Matsuno (Boy #20), Daisuke Araki (Boy #1), Kenzou Iwamoto (Boy #3), Shuuichi Kai (Boy #7), and Tsukasa Yoshizawa (Boy #22) were still assembled in the living room of the apartment. They had spent most of their time talking about possible ways to defend themselves from anyone who was playing the game, pausing only once to listen to the morning announcements.

All of them save for Tsukasa were shocked to find out that people were playing the game. Tsukasa had just said "I'm surprised there were only seven. I would expected there to be at least a dozen casualties."

"Wow, you don't have to be so blunt about it, Tsukasa," stated Daisuke.

"I'm just being realistic," Tsukasa retorted, as he attached the barrels of his rifle to the chamber and the wooden handle.

"No, you're just being a smart-ass as usual," Daisuke corrected him.

While those two were bickering, Naozumi noticed that Kenzou was looking down at his feet, as if something was upsetting him.

"Kenzou, are you alright?" Naozumi asked him in concern. The athlete looked up at the tall boy and slowly nodded his head.

"I just can't believe Wataru's already out of the game," Kenzou told him, "In all the time I've known him, he's always been so vigilant and alert. Especially whenever we played a game of rugby. But according to Furutani, he somehow managed to let his guard down."

"We just need to make sure that doesn't happen with us," Tsukasa remarked. He had finally put his rifle together all the way. Once that was accomplished, he turned towards the others and said "On that subject, whose turn is it to stand lookout?"

"Well, I just came down from my turn, and Daisuke did it before me," Kenzou pointed out, rubbing his chin. He turned towards Tsukasa and suggested "How about **you **look out, Tsukasa?"

Tsukasa gave a grunt of refusal and snapped back with "I don't think so. I'd much prefer to stay indoors." He was silent for a moment. Then he looked over at their most recent arrival and stated "How about Naozumi stands watch? I'm certain he'd at least manage to do that without screwing up."

While Naozumi was displeased with the way Tsukasa was treating him, he tolerated it all the same. While he had no desire to go back outside, he figured it was best not to argue. Daisuke, on the other hand, would not stand for it. He faced Tsukasa and told him angrily "Are you joking? Naozumi's been out on the streets all night long while we've been resting ourselves up in here. If anyone deserves a break, it's him. Besides, Tsukasa, you have the best weapon out of all of us."

"That's irrelevant," the theatrical student responded, holding his rifle with both hands,

"Tsukasa actually does have a point, Daisuke," Shuuichi remarked, "And anyway, I bet he doesn't even know how to **use **that rifle."

Kenzou and Daisuke laughed again while Tsukasa started turning livid. He turned towards Shuuichi and sharply replied with "Just what, pray tell, do you know about guns, Shuuichi?"

This time it was Shuuichi's turn to laugh at Tsukasa's expense. When he was done laughing, he said "Did you forget who you're talking to, Tsukasa? I'm the top member of our school's marksman club. I've probably had more experience with guns than the rest of the class combined. In fact, I'll bet I can even identify most guns on sight. For example, you see this?" Here, Shuuichi held up his handgun for the others to see and then continued "This is a SIG Sauer P226 Rail. It's an updated model of the P226 series, which originated in Germany and Switzerland. It's semi-automatic, its action is mechanically locked, and it uses .357 SIG cartridges. I just loaded it about a half-hour ago; its magazines hold fifteen bullets at once, but they can hold anywhere from ten to twenty, depending on the ammunition or the model itself."

Daisuke whistled in amazement while Kenzou and Naozumi nodded in interest. Tsukasa just scoffed, held up his rifle, and stated cheekily "Impressive. Can you identify this one as well?"

"Of course I can," Shuuichi responded, "What you have there is a .270 Winchester M70 rifle. It was originally manufactured in the United States and it was heavily used in the Vietnam War. It has been known to shoot around three kilometers away. It also uses bolt action and its feed system is an internal spring fed well with floorplate. It has a five round capacity in standard calibers. Like the name suggests, the ammunition it uses is .270 Winchester cartridges."

"Fascinating," was all Tsukasa said, even though he was not particularly interested in the specifics of his gun. He took his rifle in both hands and pointed it in Shuuichi's direction. Then he said "Theoretically, if it's mostly good for long range targets, could it be used for nearby targets as well?"

Shuuichi raised an eyebrow in shock, but replied calmly "Of course it can. And put that thing down right now before somebody gets hurt."

"Why?" Tsukasa sharply retorted, "It's not even loaded."

"Doesn't matter," Shuuichi countered, jumping to his feet, "You **always **treat a gun like it's loaded. **Always**. That's the first thing they teach you in the military. It's also the first thing they teach you at any marksman club, firing range, hunting group, and even at any summer camp. Guns need to be handled with extreme care."

"Whatever," Tsukasa rolled his eyes and put his gun aside. As he dug through his supply pack for the cartridges, Daisuke commented "That's some sage advice, Shuuichi. Glad to know that at least **one **of us seems to know what he's doing. You must have an extensive knowledge of firearms."

Shuuichi simply shrugged and returned to his seat. He told Daisuke "You can blame my uncle for that. He encouraged me to take up gunmanship as a hobby. He always told me I had more potential than anyone else he knew. I'd hate to sound arrogant, but I would be inclined to agree with him."

"Just out of curiosity, Shuuichi, how good **are** you?" asked Naozumi.

"Well, you see that pull cord on those window blinds?" Shuuichi remarked as he pointed across the room. The other boys looked and saw the particular window he was pointing at. The blinds had a very long and extremely thin piece of string as a pull cord. From across the room, the others could hardly even see it. Shuuichi told them "From here, I could shoot off that string at the very top of the window. I wouldn't even have to put much effort into aiming."

"Damn, that's some accuracy," Kenzou remarked in fascination, "Makes me glad we're on the same side."

"Thanks, dude," said Shuuichi, "Allies are essential at a time like this."

"Well, that settles it," Tsukasa commented as he shifted in his seat, "I nominate Shuuichi to stand watch next. He's got more than enough qualifications for it."

"Why don't you let Shuuichi decide for himself?" Kenzou spat back.

"It's alright, Kenzou," Shuuichi assured his friend, "I'll be fine with standing watch next. I'll call down if I see anything unusual happening within a mile of here. And that's a mile in all directions."

As Shuuichi made his way to the staircase in the room, Tsukasa stated "Really? You can actually see up to a mile away? Or are you just exaggerating?"

As Shuuichi walked up the stairs, he called back "No, I'm telling the truth, Tsukasa. I can see up to a mile away. I have a very sharp pair of eyes. That's one of the reasons why I'm such a good shot. It's also one of the reasons why I **never **miss my target. Make certain you remember that."

There was a note of amusement in his voice when he said this. Even though Shuuichi was not as annoyed by Tsukasa's behavior as Daisuke and Kenzou were, he enjoyed provoking a reaction out of him just as much as they did.

He just wished he had been in the room when he said that to Tsukasa; he would have been able to see the shocked look on the theatrical student's face.

Kenzou and Daisuke tried their hardest not to laugh out loud. Not out of respect, but because they knew Tsukasa would start up another argument on it. That was just his way.

After a minute, Tsukasa dug through his supply pack and found a box of cartridges. As he loaded five rounds into his rifle, the other three boys were discussing their own weapons.

"So, you got **that **for a weapon, Naozumi?" said Kenzou, gesturing to the Native American weapon.

Naozumi nodded his head with a guilty grin and said "Yeah, I know it's not much, but at least it's something useful."

"At the very least, I'm certain it's better than what I got," remarked Daisuke. He walked over to his supply pack, zipped it open, and – with some difficulty – pulled out his weapon. It was a fire extinguisher.

Naozumi chuckled in amusement for a few moments, and Kenzou and Daisuke quickly joined in. After they had their laugh, Naozumi suggested "Maybe you can use it as a club."

"Actually, that's not a bad idea," Daisuke observed as he looked over the large canister, "It's definitely heavy enough."

Naozumi turned around to face Kenzou and asked him "What did you get as a weapon, Kenzou?"

"This," Kenzou answered, showing Naozumi the device he had been holding in his right hand, "It's a standard M-26 Taser. It's utilized heavily by the police to subdue suspects who resist arrest. It's guaranteed to work on virtually all close range targets. It even has an adjustable voltage."

"Are you pleased or displeased with having that as your weapon?" asked Naozumi.

"Very pleased, actually," said Kenzou, "If anyone tries to get near me with intent to kill, I'll be able to take them down. With a good jolt of this to the heart or throat, they're pretty much disabled. A prolonged jolt at a high enough voltage can even be enough to kill them."

"I'd say we're pretty well-off, considering the circumstances," said Daisuke. Naozumi was inclined to agree, even though his weapon and Daisuke's were probably the most inefficient out of all five.

There was a short interval of silence in the room. Tsukasa had just finished loading up his rifle. He had locked the action in place and he held his rifle in both hands. He had not spoken a word ever since Shuuichi had left the room.

"You're quiet all of a sudden," noted Daisuke.

"We had nothing interesting or relevant to talk about, so I saw no need to keep the conversation going," Tsukasa responded, "So how about you just shut up and stop getting on my nerves?"

"Is that an order?" Kenzou asked sarcastically.

"Yes, it is," Tsukasa answered heatedly, "How about you follow it?"

"Wow, you're incredible, Tsukasa," Daisuke retorted. He pointed out "No one appointed you as the person in charge. Yet ever since we hooked up, you've insinuated yourself as the group's leader."

"Well, excuse me for being the only one who's trying to maintain order here!" Tsukasa yelled angrily, "And you forget it was my idea to have a lookout in the first place. Had we not agreed on that, Naozumi would have walked right by without us knowing. Think about **that **for a moment, Daisuke."

Kenzou was about to say something back, but Daisuke held his hand out and said "As much as I'd like to disagree with Tsukasa, he is correct. It's thanks to him that Naozumi is even here."

Tsukasa smirked in satisfaction and stood up, resting his rifle against his shoulder. He told the others "Glad we can agree on something for once. While we're all on the same page, there's something we need to talk about."

"What might that be?" queried Kenzou.

"I think we should keep an eye on Shuuichi," Tsukasa told the others, "If he's as good with a gun as he says he is, that might pose a threat to the rest of us."

"Oh, please," Daisuke muttered in exasperation, "Now we're pointing fingers at Shuuichi?"

"I'm just saying that we should be a little more skeptical about him," Tsukasa clarified.

"I'm pretty sure Shuuichi isn't planning our downfall," remarked Kenzou, "And anyway, Tsukasa, I actually trust him far more than I trust **you**."

Before Tsukasa could respond, they heard heavy footsteps running down the staircase. Shuuichi reentered the room a moment later with a panicked look on his face. He had his pistol in one hand and his map in the other.

"Are you alright, Shuuichi?" Naozumi asked in concern, "Did you see anything?"

"I'm fine," Shuuichi gasped as he regained his breath, "And no, no one's around here."

"Then what's wrong?" asked Daisuke.

"Guys, we better get moving," Shuuichi announced to the others as he went over to his backpack and threw it over his shoulders. Then he did the same with his supply pack.

"What do you mean we have to get moving?" said Kenzou.

"Furutani said that E-2 will be a danger zone by eleven o'clock," Shuuichi explained, "According to the map, we're a few hundred feet east of the left border of E-2. If we're not out of here within the next four and a-half hours, we're going to literally lose our heads."

This was enough to convince Daisuke, Kenzou, and Naozumi that they needed to get moving. The three of them went to retrieve their supply packs and backpacks from around the room. Tsukasa, however, did not budge.

"Move now? Without making plans?" he spoke.

"Fuck planning, Tsukasa!" Kenzou countered, "I don't fancy having my head blown to pieces. We should get out of here now!"

"But it's only 6:30; why the rush?" Tsukasa pointed out.

"Because if we listen to you, we'd be here 'til a quarter to eleven," Daisuke responded, "There's a time for plans and there's a time for moving. The time for moving is **now**. Plans can come later."

"I'm warning you, you're making a huge mistake," Tsukasa told them, trying to sound credible, "Going out there without any preparations is a suicide run."

"Tsukasa, how often do you think things went according to plan in previous Programs?" yelled Kenzou, "We're not about to put our lives on the line because you were afraid of taking risks. Now, the rest of us are leaving. You can stay here if you want, but we're not coming back for you!"

"But-" Tsukasa began. However, the other boys had already packed up. They were making their way to the front door. Tsukasa just sighed in angry defeat. As much as he wanted to be prepared and as much as those four got on his nerves, he did not want to be alone again. So he gave in to the majority rule. He finally accepted the others' democratic approach.

Tsukasa picked up his backpack and supply pack, slung them over his shoulders, and gripped his rifle with both hands. Just before the other boys exited through the front door, he ran down the hall and called out "Wait for me!"

Maybe the five of them could get along after all.

…

It would be pointless to discuss the whole of what happened between Rumi Hakugi and Fumitaka Hirata, as parts of it are similar to what happened between Namiko Abe and Wataru Koumura. However, we shall cover the important aspects of the encounter.

Rumi had entered the office, feigning a look of surprise to find Fumitaka there. He, on the other hand, appeared to be genuinely surprised to see her. She assured him that she meant no harm, and before long, he managed to calm down.

Rumi explained how she managed to find Fumitaka with the tracking device. He assumed that was her weapon, so she made certain not to reveal her hammer, as she was certain he would get suspicious if she possessed more than one "weapon." That would suggest that she had already killed.

"Why are you so sweaty, anyway?" she asked him, noting the towel and Fumitaka's red face.

"I decided to go jogging around the block a few times," he told her, "While we are in the Program, I still want to stay in shape."

Rumi was certain he was lying, but she went along with it. She remarked "I would have thought you'd be more concerned about finding Akina than running a marathon."

"Why's that?" he inquired.

"Well, last time I checked, you and she were dating," Rumi answered cheekily.

"Yeah, we are," Fumitaka confirmed, "But I'll be frank with you; I was considering breaking up with her sometime on the class trip."

Rumi was actually surprised to hear him say this. Even though Fumitaka and Akina were not as intimate as Mamoru Niwa and Yasuko Oomori, they were just as attached to each other as the other two were.

"That's… that's quite a shock," said Rumi, "I always thought you two would stay together even after junior high."

"I did, too… for a while," Fumitaka told her, "But you see… well… she and I have been having… problems."

"Like what?" asked Rumi.

"Well, she's just no fun in bed anymore," he explained, "It was fun the first couple times; now there's nothing really exciting about it."

Rumi suddenly felt that her plan to distract Fumitaka would be much easier to execute than she originally thought it would be.

"That's a shame," she commented, "What would you do after you broke up with her anyway?"

"I don't know…" he answered, "I'd probably look for another girl. One with a little more liveliness."

It was here Rumi made her move. She sauntered over to Fumitaka and sat down next to him. She began sweet-talking him just as Namiko sweet-talked Wataru. She made up things, like how she always admired track stars and how Fumitaka really did deserve better than Akina.

Before long, Fumitaka gave in. Rumi was lying down on the bench on her back and Fumitaka laid down over her. They began fiercely making out. Once she was absolutely certain he was distracted, Rumi tapped against the wall with her knuckles.

A moment later, Namiko slowly opened the door and crept into the room. She had already pulled back the hammer on her revolver. Now she just needed to get close enough so she could shoot Fumitaka without risk of shooting Rumi.

Namiko felt a rush of excitement come over her. She enjoyed seeing the trap from this point of view. Maybe if she did a fine job, Rumi would let her kill the next one, too.

However, Namiko was so preoccupied that she did not even notice the window at the other end of the room slide open. She kept her attention focused solely on Fumitaka and Rumi.

A moment later, Rumi held her hand up in the air. That was the signal to Namiko to advance. When Namiko got close enough, she pointed her revolver directly at Fumitaka's head and lined up her shot.

_**BANG!**_

Rumi had her eyes closed when the gun went off, but she just smiled when she felt Fumitaka's body fall against hers.

However, a moment later, she heard something heavy hit the floor. It was too loud to be a chair or any inanimate object in the room. So Rumi opened her eyes to investigate.

Now she was staring directly into Fumitaka Hirata's orbs. But she noticed something. They were focused on her. The irises were still moving and the eyelids blinked at regular intervals.

Rumi soon came to a realization: Fumitaka was not dead. He had not even been injured. He had merely faked it. He sat up and glared down at her with a spiteful grin.

Rumi looked off to the side and saw a most terrible sight. Namiko was lying on her stomach; she was not moving a single muscle. Her head was turned at an angle. Rumi could see that her best friend's eyes were wide open, as if she was staring into nothingness.

The thing that disturbed Rumi the most was the mark on the side of Namiko's face. There was a blackened hole in her temple with blood dripping out of it. It was a gunshot wound.

Rumi realized something more. There was a long, thin shadow crossing over Namiko's body. Rumi looked up and saw the source of the shadow.

Akina Kikuchi (Girl #8) was standing at the window, a wicked smile across her face. In her hands, she was pointing a bayonet into the room. The rifle was smoking at the muzzle; it had just been fired.

It did not take long for Rumi to piece everything together. She slowly shifted her eyes back towards Fumitaka. He still bore that same malevolent smile.

Using only his left arm, he pinned Rumi down by her arms. He continued staring her in the eye, which only frightened her more.

"Two can play at this little game of yours," Fumitaka remarked cockily, "We know what you and Namiko did to Wataru. My, how the tables have turned!"

Rumi did not respond. She was not just speechless; she was frozen with shock. Not only had their trap failed, but they had fallen victim to their own trap, as well.

"Do you actually think I'd leave Akina for someone like you?" Fumitaka spoke bitterly to her, "Akina's an amazing person. She's got attitude, beauty, and a number of other likable attributes. **You**, on the other hand, are nothing but a WHORE!"

These words were full of contempt and anger; Rumi as if she could actually feel pain from them. Even though she actually was a part-time prostitute, no one talked to her like that. She felt as if she was going to break down sobbing.

"I think you're scaring her, Fumitaka," Akina cheekily told her boyfriend, "You'd better give her something to **relax**."

"I couldn't agree more, Akina," Fumitaka replied, keeping his eyes focused on Rumi.

Without even turning around, Fumitaka reached down to the foot of the bench for his supply pack and pulled it up to his level. He unzipped it and pulled out a long butcher knife. When he saw the terrified expression on Rumi's face, he snickered in amusement.

Fumitaka slowly brought the butcher knife under Rumi's chin and told her "Just stay calm. This will only hurt for a second. Then it will sting like hell for at least another thirty seconds!"

With one swift wave of his arm, Fumitaka cut Rumi just above her necklace. He managed to slit Rumi's throat open, completely severing her jugular vein. Blood immediately started flowing out of the wound and Rumi could not catch her breath. She soon started feeling incredibly lightheaded and she felt the urge to vomit. Fumitaka continued holding her down so that she could not break free.

Just thirty seconds later, Rumi stopped struggling, even though she continued to bleed for a while after that.

Fumitaka slowly raised himself up onto his knees and wiped the blade of the butcher knife on Rumi's jacket. Once it was clean, he turned towards his girlfriend. She nodded her head in smug satisfaction.

"I'll be right in," she told him. She stepped away from the window and went around to the front door. She walked inside and made her way to the office. There she met up with Fumitaka, who was searching through Rumi's supply pack.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, shame on you, Fumi," Akina sarcastically remarked, "Don't you know better than to look through a girl's belongings?"

"I thought the rule only applied to live girls," Fumitaka answered in an equally sarcastic voice. A moment later, he found what he was looking for. He pulled out the tracking device and held it up for Akina to see. He told her "Mission accomplished."

Akina grinned and stated "Excellent."

Then she kneeled down next to Fumitaka and hugged him. In response, he wrapped his arms around her and lifted her into the air, catching her by surprise. When he lowered her to the ground, he said "Now that we've got what we want, what say we move to a more secluded area?"

"That's alright with me," she replied.

Fumitaka threw his backpack and his supply pack back over his shoulders. Then he went over to Namiko's body and pried her S&W M29 out of her hand. He also took along Namiko's supply pack, as it contained the gun's surplus ammunition packs.

Once they were all packed up and ready to go, Fumitaka and Akina stepped out of the office, made their way to lobby, and left the gym through the front door. The two of them now had blood on their hands, but that did not stop them from walking hand-in-hand. If anything, the two of them were even closer together than before.

**Girl #1 Namiko Abe – Dead**

**Girl #16 Rumi Hakugi – Dead**

**36 Students Remaining**


	15. Devotion

**Note: Originally, I was going to have the first part of this chapter explain the last part of the previous chapter. But I found that addressing another subplot before and after the explanation worked out better. Just wanted to let you know this before you begin.**

War and peace. These are two fundamental concepts of life that all the nations of Earth are familiar with. The first can imbalance the order of everyday life; the second can return that order. However, even after peace is attained, no scenario is ever the same as it was before war was declared.

The Program was a primary example. A class of students forced to kill each other against their will could indeed be viewed as a private little war. In the Program, a person could only attain peace through the worst way possible: killing off everyone else. If there is no one left alive to declare war against, what would be the point of continuing to fight? Peace would come about at any cost.

However, even in the Program, there was hope of achieving peace another way. A way that did not involve killing at all. It was arguably an impossible way, but it still existed all the same. One dedicated student was determined to use this way to bring peace in.

In I-5, Hitoshi Ohara (Boy #6) was walking at a calm pace to the south. He had no really destination in mind; he just liked to walk. He normally went on a walk every morning before school. But it was the walks on weekends that he looked forward to the most. Because there was no school on weekends, he had extra time to walk. Extra time meant he could go farther and enjoy his surroundings some more.

Seeing as how it was Saturday anyway, he decided to go on an extra-long walk. He did not stop to marvel at the city's buildings; he just kept moving on. He had a feeling this would be the last walk he ever went on, and he wanted to savor his last time alive by making it last as long as possible.

Hitoshi was perhaps the most passive member of Class 3-A. All his life, he had never exhibited any sign of hostility or ill will towards anyone. Almost everyone at Keio Shonan-Fujisawa Junior High School was friends with him. He had quite a few friends from the Senior High School, as well.

While he wasn't among the most popular students at the school, he was definitely one of the easiest to get along with. The school's faculty often cited him as an example of a model student in terms of behavior.

In fact, out of all 45 students in Class 3-A, Hitoshi was one of the few that had never been reported to the dean's office for misconduct. He was arguably the most sophisticated out of the entire class, as well.

There was one peculiar thing about Hitoshi. He was just as tenderhearted and considerate as Naozumi Matsuno (Boy #20). However, while Naozumi had been a frequent target of bullying, no one had ever dared to lay a finger on Hitoshi.

There were several possible explanations for why this was the case. One of them could have been the very definition of how exactly the boys were "kind" to everyone. Hitoshi had always been one to denounce unnecessary force and violence. Naozumi, on the other hand, just could not bring himself to argue with anyone over anything. Case in point, while Hitoshi consistently condemned violence, he also passively refused to be a victim of violence at the same time.

Another reason for why he was treated better than Naozumi may have been the fact that his mother was a police officer. A veteran police officer, no less. His mother had been very protective of him as she raised him, as she went to great lengths to ensure that her son was never influenced by drugs, alcohol, or anything else in the criminal underground.

All her efforts paid off; Hitoshi had grown into an intelligent, handsome young man. One could claim she had the perfect child. Of course, that would depend on one's definition of "perfect."

While Hitoshi was very well-behaved, he was not ignorant about the problems in the world around him. Like everyone else, he had ideals. But in Japan, these ideals would be labeled by the authorities as "dangerous" and "undesirable."

Hitoshi was a student who believed in democracy. He knew that his government shunned and cursed that form of politics, but he saw straight through the government's propaganda. He believed that a democracy would encourage more cooperation between the people and the government.

Had freedom of speech been allowed in Japan, Hitoshi would have publically announced his idea in a democratic government. But freedom of speech in this regard was not permitted in Japan, and if Hitoshi ever advocated democracy in public, he would most likely have been shot on sight. He also would have put his family in danger by saying such things. So he just stood idly feigning to support totalitarianism in public while he actually supported democracy in secrecy.

However, there was one policy regarding democracy that Hitoshi openly supported. This was the idea that "All men are created equal." He continuously emphasized the importance of this to his peers; everyone deserved equal rights and equal opportunity, regardless of differences in age, religion, race, sex, or anything else.

Hitoshi did believe in this policy so much. He viewed no one as inferior.

For this reason, he was no going to play the Program. He had something completely different in mind. He wanted to do something no one else had ever accomplished in the Program: he was hoping to save someone's life.

He knew this would not be easy. After all, some people were already playing the game, and several more were probably waiting to strike. There was also the fact that most people would not be willing to trust so easily.

This did not stop Hitoshi. Somehow, someway, he was going to save someone's life. His hope was that if he did, the people watching the Program back home might start valuing life as much as he did.

"I'll do it somehow," he said under his breath as he walked on.

Hitoshi had checked his supply pack for his weapon. It was a Colt Python .357 Magnum Revolver. It was an old-fashioned revolver similar to the Smith & Wesson Model 29. Even though it was outdated, it appeared to be in pristine condition.

However, Hitoshi had not even loaded it. He had never handled a gun, nor did he ever want to. Even if someone else turned one on him, he would not use a gun. He would just try to find a way out of the situation without using it.

Hitoshi stopped to check his map. He was nearing the center of I-5, meaning that he would soon be approaching the river in the city. This river was over a hundred feet wide and ran from I-3 to I-8. Hitoshi thought it would be nice to stop and look at the river while he was on his walk.

About two minutes later, he made it to the river. He could see bridges had been set up to connect one side to the other. They were spaced everyone one thousand feet. There were three-feet-high stone rails aligning the edges of the street by the river. Obviously they had been set up to prevent anyone from falling in, slipping in, or – worst case scenario – jumping in.

However, they were not tall enough. Because at this time, Hitoshi saw someone on his side of the river approach the stone rails. This quickly caught his attention. He watched as the girl looked down at the waters for a few moments. Then she raised one of her legs and stepped onto the stone rail. She hoisted herself up and set her other foot down on it. Once she was on it, she rose back to her full height.

Hitoshi realized who it was. It was Kotoyo Fukumoto (Girl #18). Hitoshi had not spoken with her often, but they had been on good terms with each other for the entire school year.

Kotoyo was one of the most renowned members of the school band. She could play numerous different weapons, such as the clarinet, the flute, the keyboard, the drums, and almost any string instrument. She could even play two of them at once. Her musical capacity impressed just about anyone who had an admiration for music.

Kotoyo had received a scholarship to attend a prestigious music academy in Tokyo once her compulsory education was finished.

Now she was on the verge of throwing that scholarship away. Hitoshi realized that she was also on the verge of throwing her own **life **away.

Hitoshi knew from the morning announcements that Mamoru and Yasuko had both committed suicide. But he would not let another of his friends fall to that same fate. Not if he had anything to say about it.

Hitoshi ran over to the rail as fast as he could. He called out "Kotoyo, don't! Stop!"

Kotoyo was startled for a second. She turned around and raised her right hand. She was holding something in it. Something very long and amazingly thin. Hitoshi managed to identify it as a whip.

"Hitoshi?" she whispered quietly but in alarm, "What are you doing?"

"I could ask you the same thing," he retorted, "You weren't actually planning on… sleeping with the fishes, were you?"

Kotoyo slowly lowered her whip, but she looked no more calm than before. She turned back towards the water and said over her shoulder in a panicked voice "What's wrong with that? How often do you think people chose to take the easy way out of this?"

"'Easy way out?'" Hitoshi repeated, "By throwing your own life away? There's nothing at all easy about that. Suicide is a terrible way to go."

"That's just in your opinion," Kotoyo retorted, "I'm already convinced that I'm never going to attend that music academy in Tokyo. I've already accepted the undeniable fact that I'll never go home or play an instrument again. I've already acknowledged the concept that I'm going to be dead before the week is out. And since I'm so certain I'm going to die, why not just go ahead and get it over with?"

"You really want to go through with that?" Hitoshi inquired, "You think it'll be easy to go out like this? There aren't even twenty feet of space between us and the water. You can't jump to your death."

"I know I can't," she remarked, "If I wanted to commit suicide by jumping, I would have gone to the top of that skyscraper in C-2. But here, the river is a much faster way to go. When it's this early in the morning, the currents are strong enough to carry anyone away and drown them quickly. To me, that's much better than waiting to die a slow and agonizing death at the hands of a deranged killer."

"I understand the sentiment," stated Hitoshi, "But Kotoyo, look at yourself. You're letting the Program get to you. There's no taking back this decision if you go through with it."

"I realized that long ago, Hitoshi" Kotoyo replied, "And I'll accept that. This is my decision, not yours."

"Well, at least listen to what I have to say first," he pleaded with her.

Kotoyo paused for a little bit. Then she sighed and asked "What do you think?"

"I think suicide is just as bad as homicide," Hitoshi told her, "Life is precious. It's the rarest and most sacred of all resources to be found on Earth. That is why taking life is a crime in everyday life. Certainly, here in the Program, it isn't a crime of law, but killing in here is still a crime of nature. You should treasure your time alive, Kotoyo, even if the last moments are spent in agony and despair. Far better to keep your own life for the present than to take it away yourself."

Kotoyo stood on the rail, thinking about what Hitoshi had to say. She knew Hitoshi was an atheist, but he almost spoke as if he was a prophet sent by a god. His words actually began to make an impression on her. However, she was still a little apprehensive. She looked over her should and said "But Hitoshi… I'm afraid. I'm scared of what's out there."

Hitoshi was expecting her to say something like that. He responded with "I understand, Kotoyo. But I'll be honest with you. I'm afraid, too. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't. All the same, I won't go down until my time has come. All I ask is that you consider doing the same"

Kotoyo stood thinking again about Hitoshi's words. They sank in quickly and left her wondering. She wondered if this was really what she wanted. Did she really want to go out by drowning? She'd be doing it on live television, too! Her parents, her siblings, and her friends outside Class 3-A would all know she had given up on them, on her classmates, and – most of all – on herself.

While she was thinking, Hitoshi just watched her in silence. He was silently hoping that his words would come through.

A moment later, they did. Kotoyo slowly turned around and climbed down off the stone rail. She was now standing directly in front of Hitoshi at his level. He was smiling at her; obviously he was proud of her decision.

Kotoyo's eyes started welling up with tears. She stepped forward and hugged Hitoshi. He remained smiling and wrapped his arms around her. He patted her on the back to comfort her, saying "I'm glad you see it my way."

Kotoyo continued crying into his shoulder. Through her sobs, she stammered "Th-th-th-thank you, Hitoshi. I owe you my life."

"You don't owe me anything," he reassured her, "If anything, I owe you."

Hitoshi inwardly congratulated himself. He had accomplished what he set out to do. Instead of taking a life in the Program, he had saved one. People at home would certainly see what he had done. With any luck, a few of them would be moved by what he managed to do. It was a small act of kindness, but it was still a step towards passively resisting the Program.

As he held her, Hitoshi wondered what he would do now. Maybe Kotoyo was still a little unsettled by everything. He ultimately concluded that it would be best if he stayed with her for the time being. At least until she fully regained her self-confidence. Of course, there was the possibility that she just wanted to be alone. If she did, Hitoshi would respect her wishes. He decided to ask her if she wanted him to stay with her. Whether or not she wanted his company was her decision and hers alone.

However, he never got a chance to ask her.

"How touching," came a voice from a few meters away.

Hitoshi and Kotoyo both turned their heads in the direction of the voice. The color almost drained from their faces.

Standing just in front of them with a submachine gun in his arms was Genji Nishihara (Boy #14)

…

Since the dawning of humanity, our race has always had two genders. Despite the differences in anatomy, emotions, physical capabilities, and social obligations, both of these genders rely on each other to survive. Every female has a father and every male has a mother. Case in point, it takes both a man and a woman to create a life.

However, a man and a woman can certainly work together to take a life as well. This is exactly what Fumitaka Hirata (Boy #17) and Akina Kikuchi (Girl #8) had in mind. The two of them had their own plans to win the Program by working as partners.

The two of them had met up a few hours earlier, shortly after Wataru Koumura was killed by Rumi Hakugi and Namiko Abe. Before their rendezvous, they had both been stalking one or more of these same people.

Wataru did not take off running down either side of the street immediately after he left the school. Instead, he had lingered near the entrance for a couple minutes. He wanted to check his supply pack and find out what his weapon was before he did anything else. When he found his weapon, he initially had no idea what it could be other than a handheld electronic machine. However, after a couple minutes of toying with it, he discovered that it was actually a tracking device.

Just as he figured out how to operate the tracker, Akina left the classroom next. When she made it to the school's front entrance, she was surprised to find Wataru with his back to her. Akina managed to spot the gadget in his hands, noting that part of it (the small computer screen) was glowing.

Right when she stepped outside, Wataru looked over his shoulder and saw her. Then he bolted off down the right side of the street, heading to the west.

Akina decided to follow him, as her curiosity got the better of her. She wanted to know what that device was. In her supply pack, she found a butcher knife. After arming herself with it, she ran off in the same direction as Wataru.

Akina followed him for a few miles, trying her best to keep up with him. She made certain to keep a safe distance so that he would not notice her. However, that did not seem to help her much. No matter how far back she stayed, Wataru kept changing his routes. It was almost as if he somehow knew she was following him and he was trying to throw her off.

That's when it finally occurred to Akina. She whispered to herself "He must have a tracking device."

Akina had read somewhere that there were two items that were used as weapons in every single Battle Royale: a bulletproof vest and a tracking device set to the frequency of the metal necklaces the contestants wore. Even though neither of these was actually very effective as weapons, they were used in every single Program. Akina quickly concluded that Wataru must have received the tracking device.

Even though she was certain of herself, she kept following Wataru. She figured that he must have some type of plan, given how he always came up with the best plays for the school's rugby games. Granted, the Program was vastly different from rugby, but Akina stayed her course.

Around this same time, Rumi Hakugi had left the school. She had only lingered for about thirty seconds before she decided to head to the west as well. Fumitaka saw her as she ran past the windows of the classroom. He was the very next person to leave the school. Once he was outside, he decided to run in the same direction. Not only because Rumi went that way, but also because Akina had ran in that same direction about a half-hour earlier (Fumitaka saw her run by the classroom windows, too). He wanted to find his girlfriend before anything happened to her.

Even though Rumi had a head start of almost two minutes, Fumitaka inadvertently managed to catch up to her before long, as he was on the school track team. However, he made certain to keep his distance from her, in case she was playing the game. Even though finding Akina was first on his mind, he decided to follow Rumi for the time being. Something about her made him suspicious.

Fumitaka witnessed Namiko and Rumi meeting up about twenty minutes later in B-5. Neither of them had noticed him yet, so he continued following them north towards B-4. Shortly after they entered B-4, the two of them stopped at the bank and entered it. Fumitaka stayed in B-5, but he kept an eye on the bank from down the road. He waited for them to come back out.

He decided to check his supply pack for his weapon while he waited. He had been given a M1903 Springfield Rifle, complete with a M1905 Bayonet attachment. It was a bolt-action service rifle that originated in the United States. It could shoot up to six hundred meters and it could fire fifteen rounds a minute. The weapon was so long that the barrels, the butt, and the chambers had been disconnected from each other. Fumitaka had to assemble it himself.

Once he had it pieced together, Fumitaka was rewarded with a firearm that was approximately fifty-nine inches long (including sixteen inches for the bayonet). That was almost as tall as he was.

He found a few cases of .30-06 Springfield cartridges in his supply pack. They came in the form of a stripper clip, meaning that they would have to be fed to the rifle's chamber externally. Fumitaka looked through his supply pack for the instruction manual on how to load and fire his weapon. He also found a section on the history of the weapon. It had been developed near the beginning of the twentieth century, but neither the rifle nor its ammunition had been used very much within the past four decades. They had been discontinued in the early 1970s. However, Japan still had some left over from World War II. That was how Fumitaka managed to get one.

After looking through the manual, Fumitaka managed to properly insert the stripper clip into the chamber of his rifle. Each of the stripper clips held twenty-five bullets, meaning that Fumitaka could fire his gun twenty-five times before he had to load another clip.

Now he was properly armed. However, Fumitaka still felt somewhat uneasy. He had a strange inclination to test out his rifle somehow. After all, if it had not been in service since the 1970s, who's to say it could still be fired at all? Aside from that, Fumitaka was not sure he could trust his own aim. He had never handled a modern firearm before, let alone an antique one.

For the present, he just stayed put and kept his focus on the bank. About a half-hour later, he saw Namiko leave the building.

He decided not to pursue her for two reasons. One, he did not want to go on another chase around the city; as a track star, he knew very well how important it was to conserve one's energy for when it was needed the most. Two, Rumi could have been standing at a window near the front of the bank. If that was the case and she saw Fumitaka running by, his cover would be blown. He was not ready to give himself away just yet.

About a mile to the west in B-3, Akina was still following Wataru, keeping about one hundred meters apart from him. She saw him cross a two-road intersection near the northern border of B-3. She kept on after him. However, when Wataru was nearing A-3, Namiko was approaching the intersection from the east on the road perpendicular to Akina. The two girls spotted each other from about fifty feet away.

At first, they did absolutely nothing but stare at each other suspiciously. When Akina saw that the Namiko was armed with a revolver, she decided to cut off her pursuit and take cover back down the block. To her relief, Namiko did not follow her.

Akina still kept her attention on the intersection. A long while later, she saw Wataru come back down it from the northern border of the city. Almost the moment he reentered B-3, he encountered Namiko. Akina witnessed their entire encounter. To her surprise, they actually seemed to be pairing up. Three minutes later, they ran back the way Namiko came.

Akina kept following them across B-3. They travelled mostly to the east and the south. Akina took her map out as she ran in order to keep up with their position.

Before long, Namiko and Wataru reached the eastern border of B-3. Once they crossed it, Akina saw them stop and study the device Wataru was holding in his hand. There was no doubt left in Akina's mind that Wataru had a tracker now. However, at this time, neither of them seemed to be paying any attention to her. This led Akina to conclude that the tracker was only effective for the zone it was in.

From a distance, she watched as Namiko and Wataru entered the bank. She decided to stay at the border which separated B-3 from B-4 until they came out. After all, if they could not see her while she was in a different zone, she could easily spy on them without worry of detection.

Akina had no idea that just one block south and two blocks to the east, her boyfriend was in C-4 spying on the exact same building. He had also witnessed Namiko and Wataru enter the bank.

About twenty minutes later, they both saw Namiko and Rumi leave the building. They noticed two things that made them feel quite uncomfortable: Namiko was buttoning up her jacket and Rumi was wiping off the claw of her hammer.

It did not take long for both of them to conclude that Namiko and Rumi had killed Wataru. Fumitaka and Akina panicked when this grim truth dawned on them. Fearful that either of them would be next, they decided to stop following their classmates and to just run.

Fumitaka turned around, ran to the end of the block, and ran to the west. Akina turned to her right and ran to the south.

About a minute later, the two of them crossed over into C-3. At the exact moment they entered it, they almost literally ran into each other.

At first, they had no idea it was each other, so they displayed their weapons as a desperate show of strength. However, once they calmed down, they quickly realized who they were facing.

Fumitaka and Akina were overwhelmed with joy to have found each other. They embraced each other so firmly that they felt they would never let go.

Once their moment was over, they started talking about what they had just witnessed. As you might imagine, they were quite surprised to learn that they had both been spying on the bank for more than a quarter of an hour.

Akina told Fumitaka about the tracking device and how Rumi and Namiko would be able to track them if they were in the same zone as them.

"What should we do, Fumi?" she asked her boyfriend, "Rumi and Namiko might come into this zone at any time. If they do, we are **fucked**."

"If they try to catch us, we could always ambush them," Fumitaka suggested, "After all, you've got a butcher knife and I've got a rifle fitted with a bayonet. That's more than enough to match Namiko's revolver and Rumi's hammer."

"I know, but that won't help if they see us coming," Akina pointed out, "They could sneak up on us at any time and we wouldn't even know it!"

The two of them sat in silence for a while. Fumitaka thought about what Akina just said. She was indeed correct; Rumi and Namiko had an advantage over them. But before long, he got an idea. A grim idea.

He looked down at his girlfriend and told her "What if… you and I work together to try to get that tracker?"

"How?" she queried.

"Simple: we make Namiko and Rumi fall into their own trap," he clarified for her.

Akina started thinking about this, and she quickly realized what her boyfriend was thinking. She looked back up at him and asked "Are you suggesting that we… play the game?"

He just smirked evilly and nodded his head. He told her "I'm not just talking about taking out Rumi and Namiko. What if we actually tried to take out everyone else? After all, it's not every year that the Program allows for **two** people to walk out alive."

Akina realized Fumitaka was in fact correct. Thanks to Blaine Rhodes, there was a chance that two members of the class would live. As she thought about this, she found Fumitaka's plan more and more likable.

There was no one in the class she particularly cared for. In her eyes, everyone was expendable. Fumitaka thought this way, as well. He was willing to sacrifice all his classmates if he could save himself and Akina.

A wicked grin slowly crossed Akina's face as she looked into her boyfriend's eyes and told him "You are so on!" Then she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. He held her and returned the show of affection. They stood in the shadows for up to twenty seconds before they finally pulled apart.

"We'll have plenty of time for that later," Fumitaka told his girlfriend, "For the present, let's work out a plan.

The two of them took out their maps and began planning on how they would take out Namiko and Rumi. Even though those two girls had the tracking device, it was still possible for Fumitaka and Akina to use the element of surprise against them.

The first thing they worked out was location. They were certain that the rifle would have to be fired at least once, so they wanted to do it in a more secluded part of the city. They also wanted to do it near the border of two zones.

They ultimately decided on the gym in J-3. It was on the opposite side of the river that ran from I-3 to I-8 and very close to the southern border of the city.

Now they just needed a way to lure them there. The two of them assumed that Namiko and Rumi were trying to eliminate their classmates one at a time. That being said, they decided that one of them would go to the gym and wait there while the other tried to get the girls' attention. Fumitaka wanted Akina to be the one who waited at the gym, as he was certain he would be able to outrun Rumi and Namiko just enough to lure them in.

Before they parted, Fumitaka insisted that they switch weapons. He wanted her to be better-armed in case of an attack. She ultimately agreed and traded her butcher knife for his rifle. Then she made her way to J-3.

Fumitaka kept his eye on Rumi and Namiko for the next couple hours, hoping that they would notice him before somebody else. When he spotted them running in his direction, he smirked and said to himself "Here we go."

He led them all the way to J-3. Once he was there, Akina told him what to do: he would go inside the gym and wait in the offices. When Rumi and Namiko approached by, Akina planned to jump back over into I-3 just as they moved into J-3. That way, they would still only pick up three signals. Once this was accomplished, Rumi and Namiko would go after Fumitaka.

Akina and Fumitaka knew that Rumi and Namiko frequently engaged in prostitution outside of school. That was why Fumitaka was the bait; they were using the "black widow" approach on their male victims.

Everything worked out perfectly. Akina moved about a hundred feet down the road and saw Rumi and Namiko approach J-3. The exact moment they crossed over, she moved back up to I-3. She saw the two of them pause to examine the tracker from afar. At first, she was worried that she had been discovered, but her worries subsided when Akina and Namiko approached the building. This was when the "glitch" on the tracker occurred.

Akina watched as Namiko and Rumi looked into the office from the window. She had unlocked the window to the office so that she could intervene whenever Namiko and Rumi made their move.

Everything came into place from there. After Namiko and Rumi went inside, she got closer to the building and watched Fumitaka pretended to be impressed by Rumi's advances. She could tell full well that he was pretending to be interested in her. She knew this because the two of them had slept together before; she knew how Fumitaka really acted when he was aroused.

At any rate, when Namiko entered the room from the other side, Akina made her move. When Namiko had her back to the window, Akina slid it open, pointed the rifle inside, and shot Namiko in her temple. Then Fumitaka overpowered Rumi and slit her throat with the knife.

Their plan had been nothing more than a hopeful long shot, but it had actually worked out!

Now the two of them had the tracker and a revolver, along with their original weapons. Most importantly, they had each other.

They hoped that it would ultimately come down to just them and Blaine in the end. That way, one of them could kill him and then both would win the game.

However, there was also the possibility that they would run into Blaine before everyone else was dead. Fumitaka had made Akina promise that she would be the one to take Blaine down if that was the case. She had agreed, albeit somewhat reluctantly.

While the two of them could be very self-absorbed at times, the only person either of them loved more than himself or herself was each other. This was perhaps their only weakness when working as a pair.

All the same, they made quite a pair. And they intended to stay together even after all their classmates were gone. To them, life would simply go on.

…

Hitoshi Ohara still had his arms around Kotoyo Fukumoto. The two of them were staring in shock at Genji Nishihara. More specifically, they were staring at the weapon in his hands.

"Genji?" Kotoyo was the first to speak. Hitoshi could tell she was profoundly disturbed, "What are you doing?"

"What's it look like I'm doing, Kotoyo?" Genji leered at her, "I'm doing what any sensible person would do in the Program. I'm playing to win."

"You… you're playing?" whispered Kotoyo, "That can't be… that's impossible! You'd never do something like that! Never!"

"Would I, now?" he replied. He sarcastically thought aloud "Let's see here… I'm holding an armed submachine gun, I'm aiming it at you and Hitoshi, and the safety is off. All those seem to suggest that I am playing. Besides, neither of you would be my first. Or my second, for that matter."

This time it was Hitoshi's turn to be shocked. He uttered quietly "Who… who did you-"

"If you must know, I'll tell you," Genji interrupted him, keeping that same sneer on his face, "I cornered Misaki in the bedroom at four o'clock this morning. And just as the sun rose, I sent Chieko on a little 'trip' off the top of a four-story building."

Neither Hitoshi nor Kotoyo could believe what they were hearing. Genji Nishihara had always been so considerate and helpful to everyone in Class 3-A. Now he was showing them his true colors.

Chieko had been Genji's best friend for years. Now Genji talked about her as if she meant nothing to him. This was what shocked Hitoshi and Kotoyo the most. If Genji was willing to kill his best friend without a second thought, there was no chance he would spare either of them.

Genji just scoffed and raised his submachine gun into the air. He told his two classmates "I do believe I have droned on enough. Any last words?"

Hitoshi did not have any last words. But in the few seconds Genji allotted for him and Kotoyo, a plethora of thoughts went through his mind.

Hitoshi thought carefully about this scenario. Earlier on, he had sworn that he would try to save someone's life in the Program, despite the odds against him. Just a moment ago, he was certain he was going to succeed by saving Kotoyo. Now fate was having a good laugh at his expense; he had rescued Kotoyo from herself just to let her fall victim to the Class President.

_NO_.

Hitoshi heard a voice utter this one word. This voice was his conscience. It told him _No, you cannot permit this to happen. Kotoyo's life is your responsibility now. She must be allowed to live._

Hitoshi realized this conscience was correct. Kotoyo could not die like this. She had to survive this encounter. No one could take her away now.

At that moment, something changed inside of Hitoshi. A great many emotions started coming over him. Emotions that he thought were completely foreign to his nature. For the first time in his life, Hitoshi felt anger. But it was not just simple, ordinary anger that most people observe every day. This was genuine rage.

There were several other emotions Hitoshi felt; emotions such as contempt and malice. They were all the emotions that lead to violent actions. Hitoshi had experienced each of them at least once before in his life. But never all at once. And certainly never to the degree and intensity he felt at this time.

But now his instincts were taking over. Hitoshi was not going to let Genji kill Kotoyo. He would protect her from him, even at the cost of his own life.

All these thoughts went through Hitoshi's mind in under fifteen seconds. Neither he nor Kotoyo said anything. Thus, Genji merely shrugged and stated "Very well. Let's get this over with."

He gripped the magazine of his submachine gun in his left hand and kept his right hand on the handle. He kept it pointed at Hitoshi and Kotoyo. His index finger began closing around the trigger.

But before he could fire a single bullet, something stung him on his hand. Genji shouted in surprise and pain and threw his arms up in the air. The submachine gun sailed through the air and landed twenty feet behind him.

Genji had absolutely no idea what had just happened. His eyes had followed his submachine gun from the moment if fell out of his hands. Once it hit the ground, Genji turned back to his two classmates. That was when he saw what had happened.

Hitoshi had pulled Kotoyo's whip right out of her hand. He had waved it so that it would strike Genji's hand and force him to drop his weapon.

Genji saw the look of pure fury across Hitoshi's face. It almost made his blood run cold. He had never seen Hitoshi this angry. In fact, up until this point, he could not even imagine Hitoshi angry. But he was indeed mad with an antagonistic vehemence.

However, Genji was determined to get his submachine gun back. He glanced over his shoulder for a second, as if contemplating how he could retrieve his weapon without being whipped by Hitoshi again. Maybe he could outrun him.

Hitoshi kept his eyes focused on Genji. He could see that disarming his opponent would not be enough. He had to fight back with greater force. But first, he needed to get Kotoyo out of jeopardy.

Hitoshi slid his supply pack off his left shoulder and held it out to Kotoyo with his free hand. Without even turning to her, he ordered her "Kotoyo, take my supply pack and run for cover. Use my weapon to defend yourself if any harm comes your way."

Kotoyo was shocked with this request. Hitoshi was virtually asking her to abandon him when he was facing danger head-on. She told him "Hitoshi, I can't just leave you! Genji will kill you!"

"Maybe he will, maybe he won't," Hitoshi remarked, his focus still on Genji, "But if you stay and I fuck up somehow, he could kill us both. Please, just do this for me. I don't want you to get hurt."

Kotoyo stood at Hitoshi's side, thinking about these words. What he asked of her was unimaginable. He wanted her to leave him in his darkest hour. All he had to defend himself with was a whip. If Genji managed to recover his gun, he would no doubt use it.

But Kotoyo realized right then that she owed Hitoshi her life. In some cultures, she would legally be indebted to him for saving her. However, all he asked in return for the favor was that she stay safe. Maybe staying was the right thing to do. At this time, Kotoyo was compelled to do whatever Hitoshi asked of her.

She took his supply pack and slid it over her shoulders next to her own. Then she placed one of her hands on Hitoshi's left shoulder. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, taking him by surprise. She then whispered into his ear "I'll wait for you at the supermarket in H-6. Kick his ass!"

He smiled at her and nodded, but kept his eyes on Genji. Kotoyo turned around and ran to the north as fast as she could. For a musician, she ran at a moderately fast pace.

Genji watched her as she ran. Despite her speed, it would have been so easy for him to shoot her down if he had his submachine gun in his hands. But Hitoshi noticed this and snapped his whip on the ground once.

"You make the slightest move and I'll strike you again, Genji," Hitoshi threatened him, "This is not a warning; it's a guaranteed promise."

Genji turned back to Hitoshi and smirked in amusement. He commented "I must say, Hitoshi; I think I like you better like this. I wasn't aware you were ever capable of such ire."

"Neither was I," Hitoshi responded in a deadly serious tone, "But it appears you pulled the right strings to bring that out. Now I can safely say that if you try to harm Kotoyo again, I will strike you down."

Genji folded his arms and asked "Just why is that? What is Kotoyo to you? As far as I know, you and she never interacted with each other at school. Not once. Yet now you act as if you're her bodyguard."

"I may just be that," Hitoshi grimly retorted, "I swore to myself that I would not play this monstrosity of a game. I actually planned to do just the opposite by saving someone instead of killing them. I had no idea who I would save; I just happened to encounter Kotoyo first. But now that I've prevented her from committing suicide, I've made it my own duty to protect her. I'll only let you harm her over my dead body!"

Genji chuckled and said "That can be arranged."

He turned around and dove for his submachine gun. Hitoshi reacted instantly and followed him. He whipped Genji in mid-air, leaving a huge rip in his uniform jacket and shirt and a long, bloody cut on his back. Genji shouted in agony and dropped to the ground. He placed his hand against his open wound, trying to cover it.

Before Genji had a chance to get up off the ground, Hitoshi raised the whip and struck him again. This time on his neck. He left a smaller but deeper cut there. Genji hollered in pain and covered it with his right hand.

Hitoshi did not stop there. He was now consumed by wrath. He struck Genji with his whip over and over again, creating larger rips and leaving deeper cuts all the time. Genji tried using his arms to shield himself, but Hitoshi was fast. He hit every vulnerable or weak spot he could find.

About ninety seconds later, Hitoshi relented. Genji just laid on the ground, moaning in agony. His uniform was torn up badly and his body was riddled with long, extensive cuts.

Hitoshi smiled in satisfaction and approached Genji. He stood over him and remarked "That'll teach you a thing or two. Do you want more? Or do you give up?"

Genji slowly raised his hands in surrender and weakly mumbled "I… I give up. No more… please…"

Hitoshi grinned and stated "Good. Now I'd suggest you get the **fuck **out of here. And do it now before I decide you don't deserve to live."

Genji nodded his head and tried to get up. Hitoshi could see he was having difficulty standing up straight. But he did nothing to help him.

Hitoshi realized something. All his life, he had denounced violence. Now he just used it against someone who he used to call his friend. He had inflicted so much pain onto one individual.

The worst part was that Hitoshi actually enjoyed it. He loved having that control. It was almost… invigorating.

This was the first time he ever condoned violence. It would also be his last.

Hitoshi was so caught up in his new feelings that he did not notice the submachine gun was just four feet in front of him. Genji, on the other hand, was quick to notice it. When he did, he turned to Hitoshi and punched him directly in the stomach, right on his abdomen. Along with the neck, right armpit, the left armpit, and the groin, the abdomen is one of five particularly sensitive areas on the human body. If an individual is struck on just the right spot in any of these places, the said individual would be in too much pain to fight back.

Hitoshi dropped the whip, fell to his knees, and gripped his stomach, trying hard to catch his breath. When he finally caught it back, he looked up slowly. Genji was armed with submachine gun once more. He pointed it directly at Hitoshi. He remarked cockily "Should have wasted me when you had the chance."

Then he pulled the trigger.

In the next few seconds, dozens of bullets were projected from the muzzle of the submachine gun. The grand majority of them ended up in Hitoshi's chest and stomach. Some hit him in places as high as his neck and head.

The force of the impact was so powerful that Hitoshi was thrown backwards onto his back. He was immersed in sharp pains all over his body. He barely had the strength to move now.

As he lay on the ground, Hitoshi thought about how ironic his fate was. All his life, he had spoken out against the use of violence. He was always one to look for a peaceful, diplomatic solution to any conflict. He was frequently commended for always taking this approach.

Now, his last thoughts were not only about violence, but of how it really made him feel. The feeling excited him. It made him feel alive and full of energy. He had missed out on such an incredible sensation all his life.

But a part of him was still a strong advocate of peaceful resolution. This part of him came back to him in his last moments. Inside, he was still content with the knowledge that Kotoyo was safe. All the same, he was a little saddened as well; as he knew he would not be able to protect her from harm anymore.

Aside from this, Hitoshi was willing to accept what was happening to him. Truth be told, he was not upset about it. If anything, he was relieved. If he died now, he would die without indulging himself with more feelings of malevolence. He was happy he would not have time to become an even more violent person. His other classmates would be spared a fate at his hands. They would know he died a human being and not a psychotic madman.

Genji stood up straight a few feet away. While he was in pain, he kept his focus on his mortally wounded classmate. He watched Hitoshi as he remained sprawled out on the ground, lying as peaceful and as still as a corpse. A few minutes later, he was just that.

**Boy #6 Hitoshi Ohara – Dead**

**35 Students Remaining**


	16. Communication

Back in D-7, Osamu Sano (Boy #9) and his fellow gang members were in the midst of drawing up some plans. At this time, none of them – including Gakuto Yamashita (Boy #21) – had even an inkling about how they all could escape the Program.

They decided to worry about escaping later on. For the time being, they were going to focus on survival. Gakuto had been the first to come up with a plan. He suggested that the group start by trying to expand their armory.

He told his friends that they could accomplish this by one of three possible methods.

The first idea was that they could try to locate their other classmates and "persuade" them to hand over their weapons. Osamu quickly turned this option down. He wanted to put off any encounters with the rest of the class for as long as possible. While he knew these encounters were inevitable, he did not want to put his friends in danger just yet. Aside from that, even though he valued his friends' lives and his own over those of everyone else, he did not want them to contribute to the body count. At least not until such a thing was unavoidable.

The second idea was that they could try to forge around the city for other weapons. Unfortunately, this would be very difficult. They had checked the map several times, and nowhere could they locate a gun shop or a butcher shop. And even if they were there, Osamu was certain the military would have emptied any such shops before the Program began.

After Osamu turned down the first two choices, Gakuto remarked that all they had left was "Plan C." When the others asked him what he meant, he responded with "We'll make our own weapons."

Gakuto was by far the best at chemistry in Class 3-A. He knew the chemical formulas for just about every acid, base, and compound known to science. Now his aptitude in that subject would benefit him and his friends. He could use his knowledge to develop chemical weapons.

At this time, Gakuto was sitting at a table in the center of the bar, writing on a piece of paper. He was making a list of materials he would need to create the weapons he had in mind.

Toshirou Oosaki (Boy #5) was sitting next to Gakuto at that table. He had the same bottle of vodka from before in his hand. He took a modest swig from it and set it back down on the table. Then Toshirou turned his head to gaze at Gakuto's list and he studied it as Gakuto lengthened it. He was quite surprised by the item at the very top of the list.

"'Soap?'" Toshirou thought aloud, scoffing a bit, "We'll be needing soap?"

"Yes, and lots of it," replied Gakuto as he continued writing.

"Gakuto, how the hell is soap going to help us make weapons?" Toshirou inquired, "While I will admit that personal hygiene is very important in everyday life, keeping our bodies clean will not protect us from bleeding our guts out."

Gakuto lightly sighed and shook his head. He turned to Toshirou and stated "Toshirou, haven't you ever seen the movie _Fight Club_?"

"Of course I've seen it," Toshirou replied, leaning back in his chair, "Even though it's been outlawed here, I'm certain we've all seen it."

"Good," said Gakuto, "Then you'd know from that movie that it's possible to extract the glycerin from soap and use it to form nitroglycerin."

Toshirou whistled in amazement and sat up straight again. "Really? You can do that?"

"You bet I can," Gakuto responded with a smirk, "And that's just the first thing I plan to make. If we can gather together everything we'll need, we might be able to create an entire arsenal of explosives."

Toshirou shrugged once and commented "Explosives, huh? I can dig it." He then lifted the vodka bottle up to his mouth again. But before he could have another drink, Gakuto pulled the bottle out of his hands and sniffed it once. He announced "We'll need this, too. It'll help to have some type of alcohol to properly carry out the extraction process."

Toshirou swiped the bottle back and replied in a tone of slight annoyance with "That's fine with me. Use anything you want in the bar. But not this; this bottle is mine."

Gakuto chuckled and remarked "If you say so."

At this time, the other four members of the gang were lounging around the bar. Gakuto had specifically told them that he did not want any help in writing the list of needed materials, and they respected his wishes. So they merely stood by and waited for him to finish.

Osamu was near the back of the room, playing a game of darts with Kazumitsu Hayashi (Boy #16). While Kazumitsu's tosses packed a little more force, his coordination was not as deft as Osamu's. Osamu managed to win most of the games. Kazumitsu continued to congratulate his friend every time he won, but he was starting to suspect that Osamu was cheating. After all, **no one **makes nine bulls-eyes in a row while standing fifteen feet away from the target.

The two members of the fairer sex were watching the dart games from the side of the room. Kaminari Ishida (Girl #2) was sitting at the counter near Reika Fujihara (Girl #19). Kaminari was only partially interested in the dart games. Reika, on the other hand, was very much into them. However, her primary attention was not on the games themselves.

Kaminari noticed the dreamy expression on Reika's face. Kaminari knew that face very well. Reika only wore it when she was deeply interested in something. This "something" usually varied; it could be anything from a catchy song she heard on the radio to the material covered in a mathematics lecture to a movie she had plans to see.

Since she had nothing better to do, Kaminari decided to investigate. She wanted to know what was on Reika's mind **this **time.

Kaminari leaned over to her friend and remarked "You certainly seem engrossed in something."

This snapped Reika out of her reverie. She turned to Kaminari and stared at her blankly for a moment. Then she giggled and said "You have no idea."

"What's got you so occupied?" queried Kaminari.

"Oh, nothing, really," Reika responded. Kaminari was not satisfied with this simple answer; she could tell she was lying. She edged forward a little and said "C'mon, tell me."

Reika sat thinking about this request for a moment. Truthfully, she did want to talk about what was on her mind with **somebody**. Ultimately, she decided it would be safe to discuss it with Kaminari.

Reika nodded her head towards the back of the room. Kaminari turned to look and saw that her friend was gesturing towards Kazumitsu and Osamu. Kaminari scoffed and commented "I had no idea you could become so absorbed in a game of darts."

"It's… it's not the game," Reika told her, "It's about… one of the two people playing it."

"You mean Kazumitsu?" Kaminari assumed. She assumed this because she occasionally had certain thought about Kazumitsu, as well. His brute strength really impressed her at times, and he often expressed his admiration her for her ingenuity. The two of them did not interact outside the group very much, but they still got along very well.

Kaminari did not get the response she was expecting. She was stunned when Reika shook her head. She asked her suspiciously "What do you mean? It's about Osamu?"

Reika slowly nodded her head this time. She took a deep breath and tentatively began to explain: "Well, you see, Kaminari, earlier on when I found Osamu… something happened between me and him. Something I did not see coming **at all**."

Kaminari leaned in closer. She was really interested in what Reika was telling her now. She asked her "What? What happened?"

Reika sheepishly continued with "Right after I told him that we had already met up… well, he… he… he kissed me. Right on the lips."

Kaminari was now shocked. Osamu Sano had rarely ever shown affection for anyone in the past. But now the same Osamu Sano… actually kissed Reika? Kaminari could not bring herself to grasp such a concept.

From this point on, the girls talked a little more softly; they did not want the boys to overhear them.

"He really kissed you?" Kaminari gaped in disbelief.

Reika just nodded her head, saying "Yeah, without any warning. And you know how long the kiss lasted?"

"How long?" queried Kaminari.

"Thirty seconds," Reika answered, "Thirty whole seconds elapsed from the instant his lips touched mine to the instant he pulled them away."

"Why didn't you push him away?" Kaminari pointed out.

"At first I wanted to," Reika told her, "And I almost did. But after just the first five seconds, I took some time to think about what I was really feeling. The remaining twenty-five seconds… those were probably the most pleasant and peaceful moments I've experienced since this game began."

Kaminari was stunned. She had only started up a conversation with Reika to pass the time. She had even been somewhat hesitant at first to start one. Now she was thoroughly into the conversation. She had so many questions on her mind that she wanted to have answered. She managed to calm herself and address them one at a time. She started with "Why did he kiss you?"

"I honestly don't know," Reika replied, "I think he was just really, really happy to see me and to know the rest of us were safe."

"Do you think he meant the kiss to have any type of romantic connotation?" Kaminari remarked.

"Again, I don't know," Reika answered, "I'd like to think he did, but I don't want to fool myself into believing a fantasy."

Kaminari was about to ask another question when Gakuto abruptly pushed back his chair and stood up. He turned to the other members of the gang and proclaimed "I've compiled a list of all the resources and supplies I'll need."

Osamu turned his attention from the dartboard to his friend. He smiled and walked over to him, saying "Excellent. The sooner we take inventory, the sooner we can get to work."

Gakuto showed him the list. Osamu studied it closely. Every now and then, he raised an eyebrow out of interest. When he was finished looking over the list, Osamu remarked "Gakuto, I have no idea how you expect to acquire things such as sulfuric acid, sodium hydroxide, and most of the other chemical compounds on this list. Not to mention all this equipment."

"That brings me to the difficult part," Gakuto explained. He picked up his backpack and supply back off the ground. As he put them on, he looked at the group's leader and told him "Osamu, I'm going to need to borrow the car."

Osamu looked up from the list in surprise. The others were somewhat surprised as well. Osamu slowly said to his friend "What do you mean? You're going out into the city?"

"Yeah, I'll have to," Gakuto confirmed. He took his map out of his supply pack and held it out for Osamu to see. He pointed to two certain areas and told him "There's a chemical storage building in B-7 and a hardware store in J-5. I'm certain those two places will carry everything I'm looking for."

Osamu did not know how to respond. He was glad that his entire group was together and he did not want it to be broken up so quickly. However, he did not decide against Gakuto's request so hastily. He took a few moments to think about it. Osamu knew Gakuto better than he knew anyone else in the group. Gakuto had never done anything he thought he would later regret, and he always considered every possible outcome when making a choice. At this time, he seemed very sure of himself, as if he was certain his plan to develop some chemical weapons would work. But he could not get started on his plan without the proper ingredients and provisions.

"You're sure this is the only way?" asked Osamu.

Gakuto nodded his head swiftly. He responded with "I promise you I won't do anything foolish. If I run into any players, I won't engage them. I'll just gather what I need and come right back here."

Osamu agreed to this arrangement. "Very well, but I think it would be best that you don't wander around the city alone. Toshirou, I want you to go with him."

Toshirou looked up from his bottle of vodka and asked "Why me, Boss?"

"'Cause you're our best driver, even when you're a little drunk," Osamu replied bluntly, "Besides, I can tell you're desperate for something to do. You're not the type that likes to stay in one place for too long, doing nothing."

Toshirou humorously shrugged and stood up straight. He then raised his vodka bottle up to his mouth and drained the last of it. As he lowered it, he shouted "You know it! I'm ready for some action!" Then he raised his arm into the air as if to break his bottle against the table. But as he brought his arm down, Gakuto intercepted it and grabbed it.

"Don't smash the bottles," he requested, "I can think of a good use for them, even once they're empty."

Toshirou snickered in amusement and gently set the bottle down on the table. He reached down to his feet and picked up his own backpack and supply pack. As he slung them over his shoulders, he cheekily told Gakuto "Your chauffeur is ready, good sir."

Gakuto got a good laugh out of Toshirou's giddy remark, as did the other members of the gang. Once everyone was done laughing, Osamu asked Gakuto "Is there anything you need us to do in preparation for when you actually make the weapons?"

"Actually, there is," Gakuto replied. He pointed over to the bar and told the others "I'll need as much alcohol as possible in order to efficiently and speedily carry out the glycerin extraction process. This bar's inventory should suffice. I want you to take a look at the labels on the bottles. For anything that contains at least 75% alcohol, go ahead and pick it out. Anything lower, just leave it."

"Alright, you got it," Osamu agreed, "We'll get right on that."

Gakuto smiled, said "Thanks," and made his way over to the front door. Toshirou was already standing there with a determined expression across his countenance. He held open the door for his friend to let him pass.

"We parked the car a couple blocks north of here," Osamu called out to them, "We did that to avoid being conspicuous. Whenever you get back, go ahead and park in that same spot."

"You got it!" Toshirou responded. He stepped outside after Gakuto and gently closed the door behind him.

Osamu and the others listened as their footsteps trailed away. Less than a minute later, they could not even hear any footsteps. Toshirou and Gakuto were on their own for the present.

Osamu sighed and turned to face the other three members of his gang. He thought about resuming his game with Kazumitsu, but he felt it would not be appropriate to play a game while some of his friends were out in the city. Aside from that, something else was on his mind. He had been thinking about this subject for quite a while, and now it seemed like the center of his attention.

Osamu casually walked over to the back of the room. Kazumitsu, Reika, and Kaminari watched him as he did so. When he neared the door that led to the back rooms, he turned to the counter and said "Reika, can I have a moment of your time?"

Reika was not certain how to respond. Osamu's voice was gentle, but his tone sounded bothered. She slowly got to her feet and approached her Boss. When she reached him, he turned towards the other two members of the gang. He asked them "Kaminari, Kazumitsu, can you go ahead and sort out everything in the bar that has a minimum of 75% alcohol? I want to have a large and readily-available supply of it by the time Gakuto and Toshirou get back."

The two of them nodded in compliance to this command. Once they did, Osamu led Reika through the door. They made their way towards the back rooms.

For the moment, Kaminari and Kazumitsu were alone in the front room of the bar. For a while, they worked in silence as they picked out the strongest alcoholic beverages from the shelves. However, both of them were more interested in what was going on in the back rooms; they allowed their minds to wander as they thought about this.

…

Back at City Hall in F-6, Kiyomi Takayama (Girl #12) and Tatsuo Inoue (Boy #2) were busy cleaning up the mayor's office. Tatsuo had made quite a mess of it in his endeavors to locate the mayor's skeleton key, and he thought it would be best if they returned it to its original appearance.

At this time, Yuuga Suzuki (Boy #11) and Blaine Rhodes were out in the building's lobby. They were moving crates of supplies from the bomb shelter to the ground level. Even though the internal entrance to the bomb shelter required an access code, one did not require an access code to exit the shelter through that same door. Thus, after Yuuga and Blaine reentered the bomb shelter through one of the building's external entrances, they were able to leave it through the internal entrance, which happened to be located in the back of the foyer.

About twenty minutes earlier, the four of them had decided that two of them would clean up the mayor's office while the other two would bring up the crates from the bomb shelter. Since Tatsuo had been up all night working and Kiyomi's gunshot injury made it hard for her to lift heavy things, it had been decided that they would handle cleaning the mayor's office, as they had the less laborious task.

Blaine had only gotten two hours of sleep in the mayor's office, but he felt well-rested and energized. Yuuga could go days without sleep, so he was more than willing to move the crates.

All four of them were armed with guns. Blaine had his Remington Model 870 shotgun, Tatsuo had his Persian Long Luger mod1314, Yuuga had his Beretta 98, and Kiyomi had Ichiko's Schmidt M1882 Service Pistol. They kept them loaded and at the ready, in case an ambitious player came to City Hall.

While all of them were focused on their work, the silence was not to last.

By this point, Yuuga and Blaine had managed to move over two dozen crates of supplies into the foyer. They carried them over to the door of the mayor's office and aligned them against the wall. It was hard work transporting the crates from the bomb shelter to the lobby, but they were certain the rewards would be worth it. If worse came to worse, they could simply use the crates to barricade themselves into the mayor's office.

Once they had thirty crates along the walls, Yuuga suggested "Let's take a little break."

"Excellent idea," Blaine concurred. He leaned against a free space of wall and wiped the sweat off his brow. The crates were not the first thing on his mind, however.

Being the face-reader he was, Yuuga could tell that Blaine's mind was elsewhere. Something appeared to be bothering him. Of course, that was to be expected; how could anyone possibly not be disturbed whilst in the Program? All the same, Yuuga made it his responsibility to investigate.

"Is something wrong?" he asked Blaine.

Blaine slowly turned his head towards Yuuga and nodded. He responded verbally with "This has been on my mind ever since you and Kiyomi got here. It was hard enough for me to believe that Ichiko was playing. But Tatsuo got me thinking; what if most other people are playing the game, too? How do we know we can trust anyone anymore?"

"I wouldn't worry about that, Blaine," Yuuga assured him, "I can tell the liars apart from the honest folk."

"Well, of course it's easy for **you**," Blaine retorted, "You just have to **look **at someone and you know what to make of them. It's not that simple for the rest of us, Yuuga. The rest of us have to rely on our instincts and judgment. And there's no easy way to ascertain whether or not we're making the right choices until it's too late."

"In that case, what makes you so certain you can trust **me**?" inquired Yuuga, "After all, I can understand why you'd trust Tatsuo and Kiyomi, but how are the three of you able to trust me?"

Blaine turned to him and smirked, saying "Simple. You found Kiyomi when she was wounded and you went out of your way to get her to safety. Also, when you arrived here, Tatsuo went ahead and told you where I was while I was sleeping. While he was in the bomb shelter, you had the perfect opportunity to kill me in my sleep."

"But if I did try to kill you, Kiyomi could have stopped me," Yuuga pointed out.

"True," Blaine concurred, "But I have a feeling you could have easily overpowered her, given how weak the bullet wound made her. So **that's** why I'm certain I can trust you, Yuuga. And I'll be damned if Tatsuo and Kiyomi don't trust you, as well."

Yuuga smiled back at the American, saying "I'm relieved to hear you say that, Blaine. I really am. It was hard enough to get people to trust me before the Program; I thought doing it **in **the Program would be damn near impossible."

Blaine raised an eyebrow at what Yuuga just said "Really? People weren't trusting of you in the past? I find that very hard to believe."

"It was mostly because of my empathic abilities," Yuuga elucidated, "Some people don't trust me because they are under the impression I can read their minds. No matter how hard I try to tell them I can't do such a thing, they don't believe me. Truthfully, I can't really criticize them for their paranoia. A lot of people are inclined to fear people with unusual abilities. The especially ignorant people are convinced that these individuals will somehow end up using these 'abilities' against them. So in response, the people shun and curse the individuals, simply for being different."

"That doesn't really surprise me," Blaine remarked, "Often, those same 'people' are just looking for a scapegoat to distract the public from real problems. It would make sense that they target people who are different from them and pin the blame on these same individuals. They figure that these individuals won't be missed when they're gone. That's what sparked several of the world's greatest scandals, such as the Salem Witch Trials."

"That's a rather astute way of looking at it," stated Yuuga. He was actually impressed by the logical way Blaine interpreted his words. He could tell that Blaine was obviously up to date with the realism in the world. He understood Yuuga's feelings and he sympathized with him. But Yuuga was glad Blaine did not pity him; he did not want to be pitied simply because some people deeply misunderstood him.

At that moment, the door to the mayor's office opened and Tatsuo stepped outside. He spotted Yuuga and Blaine and called out to them "I see you guys are taking a break, too. Kiyomi and I decided to go ahead and have breakfast, seeing as how it's after nine o'clock. You want to join us?"

"That's fine with me," replied Yuuga. He and Blaine stood up straight and began making their way over to the door.

As he walked, Blaine slid his hands inside the pockets of his jacket. As he did, his right hand came into contact with something long, thin, and smooth. A piece of paper, perhaps.

Blaine stopped and wondered _What have I got in my pocket?_

He could have sworn his jacket pockets were empty when he was at the movie theater the previous night. After all, he normally kept them empty while he kept his cell phone in his pants pocket.

Then he remembered what had happened this morning when he left the school. He remembered the soldier standing guard had given him an envelope.

_The envelope! _Blaine thought, _How could I have forgotten about it?_

"You coming, Blaine?" A voice interrupted his thoughts. It was Tatsuo. He was standing at the door, and Yuuga had already passed through it.

As far as Blaine knew, no one else in the class had received an envelope from the soldier guarding the school. He recalled that a single sentence had been written on the front of it in English: "For your eyes only." For this reason, Blaine had decided to wait until he was alone to take out the letter and read it. However, he had been so preoccupied with finding some shelter and fortifying City Hall that he had forgotten all about it.

He decided it was best to read the letter as soon as humanly possible. He had no idea what it could be about, but it may have been something important.

Blaine looked up at his best friend and told him "Yeah, I'll be right along, Tats. I just… need to use the bathroom. I'll be right back; just go ahead and start without me."

Tatsuo merely shrugged and said "Suit yourself. We'll be right here." Then he stepped back into the mayor's office and closed the door.

Blaine was now alone in the foyer. He had left his supply pack and backpack in the mayor's office, but he still had his shotgun slung over his shoulder. He gripped the strap, turned around, and went to look for the bathroom. Once he found it, he went inside, entered a stall, and locked the door. He was not taking any chances. He looked all around the room to see if a camera had been installed there. To his relief, there was not one; he could read the letter without being watched.

Blaine reached into his jacket and pulled out the envelope. He flipped up the top of it and removed the letter. It was folded into three parts. It had the official Japanese army seal on the ends. Blaine tore the seal and opened it up, revealing a letter which covered the whole of the page.

Based on the handwriting, Blaine concluded that the person who wrote the letter must have been Japanese. But it was written in perfect English; it was almost as if the person who wrote the letter had English as their first language.

The very first thing Blaine read was "Do not mention, show, or share the contents of this letter to anyone. Under ANY circumstances."

Blaine began reading the letter. He read slowly to make certain he did not misread anything. As he progressed, he felt his eyes widen and his jaw drop. He even slapped himself a couple times to make certain his eyes were not playing tricks on him.

When he was finished reading, Blaine was overcome with elation, astonishment, and disbelief all at once. Most of all, he felt happiness. He was even happier than when he met up with Tatsuo and Kiyomi. To Blaine, reading this letter was like receiving a message from his savior.

However, there were a few parts of the letter that concerned him. In addition to joy, Blaine also felt some anxiety and nervousness when he read these parts. In the end, he was not certain **how **to feel about the letter overall. Perhaps Yuuga would know.

Blaine then remembered that the person who wrote the letter had asked him explicitly not to discuss it with anyone. As tempting as it was, he decided to obey that request. He would risk jeopardizing himself and his friends if anyone else found out about it.

After the excitement of the moment sank in, Blaine folded the letter up, reinserted it into the envelope, and slid the envelope back into his pocket. Then he went to wash his face in one of the sinks. As the cold water cleansed his face, Blaine thought about what he had just read. For the first time that morning, he found hope.

What did the letter say? That shall remain a mystery for the time being.

…

Gakuto Yamashita and Toshirou Oosaki were in luck. The chemical storage building in B-7 was locked, but they managed to break in through the front door without much trouble. Had they broken in on a typical day, they would have been hearing blaring alarms and security guards would have been swarming over them. In the Program, however, they encountered neither alarms nor security. Getting in was simple as can be.

The chemical storage building had plenty to offer. They went through the different floors, picking up everything on the list. They also found quite a few useful things they had not planned on finding. For example, they found some tanks of methane gas and some tanks of nitrous oxide on the third floor. They decided to take a few of both.

Methane gas is colorless and odorless. It is also so flammable that releasing one canister of it into a small building and then lighting a match would be enough to demolish the building's interior.

Nitrous oxide is commonly used by dentists and orthodontists to help patients relax. Like most gases, it can be fatal when too much of it is ingested. All the same, Toshirou thought bringing some along could help ease the tension a little. Gakuto got a good laugh out of this idea, but ultimately agreed to it. He wanted to take as many chemicals as they could carry back to the bar.

Once the car was loaded up, Toshirou and Gakuto got into the driver's seat and passenger seat respectively. After hotwiring the car into ignition again, Toshirou made a U-turn in the middle of the street so that they were facing south. Then he applied gentle pressure to the gas pedal. Even though it was now daylight and they could not help being seen, they still did not want to make too much noise with the car. So Toshirou kept the car at a maximum of 20 MPH.

As he drove, he asked his passenger "Where to now, Gakuto?"

"Well, let's see," Gakuto thought aloud as he looked over his shoulder. The trunk and the second backseat row were full of containers and canisters. However, most of the first backseat row was still vacant. He remarked "Even when factoring in the chemicals we did not plan to pick up originally, we still have plenty of room. I think we just might have enough for all that equipment and soap. So I suppose we can just go ahead and make our way to the hardware store."

"Alright, J-5 it is," Toshirou acknowledged. He resumed driving to J-5, occasionally getting a glimpse of his map in order to keep up with their location.

Fortunately for Toshirou and Gakuto, they had not encountered anyone else yet. They considered themselves lucky thus far. They almost found it rather odd that the city was so deserted. They were a little relieved for the isolation, but all the quietness made them feel uneasy. How many others could have died since the morning announcement?

Unbeknownst to either of them, they would end up encountering someone soon. In fact, this person would intercept them on their current path.

Toshirou was still mostly sober. Despite having drunk an entire bottle of vodka, he was as vigilant as ever. Most people would be virtually incapable of driving after consuming so much liquor. But not Toshirou; like he had said earlier, he was very good at stomaching alcohol.

However, he had not gotten any sleep in the past thirty hours, and sleep deprivation did not agree with his body. The intoxicating effects of the vodka combined with his lack of sleep were starting to kick in.

After driving for a couple minutes, Toshirou felt his eyelids getting heavier. Then he felt his attention shift from the road to his sudden drowsiness. A few moments ago, he had only been a little tired. Now he felt almost overwhelmed with fatigue. He frequently shook his head to stay awake.

At this time, Gakuto was looking out the window on his side of the car. Every now and then, he glimpsed at his map and then back out the window. He wanted to keep up with their location through the street names and the buildings they passed. He had not even noticed that Toshirou was on the verge of nodding off.

By this time, they had crossed over into C-7. Gakuto studied the map closely and remarked "Looks like we'll be passing the carpentry shop soon. I guess we're on the right path. Now we just need to-"

At that exact moment, he looked up from his map to the front of the windshield. Just slightly over a hundred feet away, he saw someone step out of what appeared to be the carpentry shop. This person's arms were full of lumber. He did not even seem to notice them coming. And he was right in their way!

Gakuto noticed that Toshirou was not slowing down. In fact, it almost felt as if they were speeding up. Gakuto turned to his friend and saw what was the matter. Toshirou's eyes were closed and his head was leaning on his shoulder. To make matters worse, his foot was slowly sinking down on the gas pedal.

Gakuto panicked. He griped Toshirou by his shoulder and shook him violently, shouting "Toshirou, wake up! Wake the fuck up!"

A few seconds later, Toshirou jerked awake. He turned to Gakuto and yelled in alarm "What? What! What the hell's going-"

Before he could finish, Gakuto shouted "You gotta punch the brakes! Now!"

Toshirou turned back to windshield and saw the person in front of them. They were only thirty feet away from him. He still had not noticed them yet; he was right in the middle of the street.

"Shit!" Toshirou screamed as he slammed his foot on the brakes. The car almost buckled under the sudden pressure, but the brakes kicked in.

When the car was less than ten feet away from the other person, the other person turned around. He recoiled in surprise and alarm. The car was still approaching him.

Toshirou slammed his other foot on the brake pedal, hoping it would be enough to bring the car to a complete halt. Had Toshirou ever learned how to drive a car at a driver's education school, he would have known that slamming the brakes was a very unwise thing to do. Applying steady and easy pressure to them was always the best way to go. But he was desperate to get the car to stop now.

When the car finally stopped, it was just two feet in front of the other person. This cut it dangerously close. However, it was enough for Toshirou. He sighed in relief and leaned back against his seat.

"That… was close," he gasped. A moment ago, he had been overcome with exhaustion. Now, thanks to that jolt, he was wide awake and alert.

Gakuto turned his attention back to the person outside the car. The person had dropped everything he was carrying except for what appeared to be a fisherman's harpoon rifle. Gakuto watched as the person walked around the car's hood and approached the driver's seat. The person tapped his knuckles against Toshirou's window.

Toshirou looked to Gakuto, as if to ask his advice on what to do. Gakuto slowly nodded his head and told him "You may as well open it. And don't worry; if things get ugly, I've still got my revolver."

He pulled back part of his uniform jacket to show Toshirou his IOF .32 Revolver. He had tucked it into a covered part of his belt to keep it safely concealed.

Toshirou's metal skewers were still in his supply pack. He had thought about arming himself with them earlier on, but doing so proved to be difficult, given their shape. So he had to face whoever was on the other side unarmed. He still felt some assurance knowing that Gakuto had his revolver at the ready.

First Toshirou put the car into the parking gear. Then he slid open the window and looked out of it. The person on the other end leaned down to bring his head closer to the level of Toshirou's head. It was Teru Machida (Boy #19). He did not look happy. Not in the slightest.

"Teru?" said Toshirou in interest. He did not expect to run into someone like Teru out on the city streets.

"Toshirou? Gakuto?" Teru replied after observing the two of them for a moment.

Neither of them responded. There was just a long void of silence. Then Teru tensed up a little. He shouted angrily "A bit of advice: watch where you're fuckin' going, Toshirou! I don't fancy being run over!"

"Hey, no need to get hostile!" Gakuto countered, coming to Toshirou's defense, "Besides, why didn't you get out of the road? Or at least turn around a little bit sooner? Surely you heard us coming!"

At that, Teru actually seemed to ease down a little. He looked off to his side, saying "I suppose you're right. I should have been more attentive."

Gakuto noticed that Teru had a pair of headphones around his neck. He asked him "Were you listening to music?"

"Yeah, I was," Teru admitted guiltily, "It helps me relax, especially whenever I'm under a lot of stress. You can imagine how much stress I'm under now. I suppose I should save it for later, though."

"Maybe you should," Gakuto agreed, "Right now, you should just be glad that Toshirou stopped when he did."

"No, that's not quite true" Toshirou countered his friend, "He's lucky you shook me when you did, Gakuto. Otherwise I would have run him over in my sleep."

"Well, if you two wanted, you could have just run me over anyway," Teru pointed out, "Yet you didn't. You actually went to great length to avoid it. I take it that means you're not playing?"

"No, we aren't," Toshirou replied, "But are you?"

"Hell, no," Teru answered bluntly. He paused to look further back into the car. He raised his eyebrows in interest and asked "If you aren't playing, where are you headed with all these chemicals?"

"It's just a little science experiment," Gakuto remarked cheekily, "We're going to try to make us some extra weapons. But only in preparation for the worst."

"Fascinating," Teru commented as he studied the contents in the backseat, "You got quite a collection here. Nitric acid, sodium hydroxide, sulfuric acid… what are you planning on making? Nitroglycerin?"

"Actually, yes," Gakuto answered. Teru had only half-expected him to say that, but he did a good job of containing his surprise. Gakuto added in "Among other things. What about you? What are you going to do with all that lumber?"

"I'm going to try to build a foundation for **this **little beauty," Teru replied, showing the other two boys his harpoon rifle, "It's just part of a little plan I have to send Furutani and the soldiers a 'message.'"

"What do you mean?" asked Toshirou, "What sort of message?"

Teru did not respond immediately. He first looked to his left and then to his right, as if checking to make certain that no one was watching him.

Then he turned back to Toshirou and Gakuto and asked them "Do you really want to know?"

Gakuto and Toshirou looked to each other, as if hesitating to answer their classmate. Their curiosity ultimately got the better of them. They turned back to Teru and nodded simultaneously.

Teru leaned his free arm against the door and remarked with a smug grin "What if I told you guys there's a chance we might all walk out of this city alive?"

Neither Toshirou nor Gakuto was prepared for this response. But Teru could tell based on their resulting facial expressions that they liked this idea.

"How?" Toshirou asked him eagerly "How do you plan that?"

Teru replied with "I can't tell you straight out. They're listening."

Gakuto's eyes shot open. "You know, too?"

Teru smirked at his reaction and said "I see I'm not the only one who's one step ahead of the game. But do you know **how **they're listening?"

"Unfortunately, we do not," Gakuto answered, "I assume they have some type of sound system installed all over the city, similarly to how they have installed the surveillance system and the loudspeakers."

Teru suppressed the urge to laugh at this response. He commented "I would've thought you'd have it figured out by now, Gakuto. After all, not to sound arrogant, but you're probably the one person in our class who could outsmart me."

Gakuto shrugged and said "I don't know about that. I mean, sure we both you and I are easily in our school's top five percentile, but still-"

"Oh, don't be so modest, Gakuto," Toshirou interrupted him, "Speaking as the only 'average' student between the three of us, I can vouch for Teru's claim. You and he are easily the brightest out of all of us."

"I'm flattered, Toshirou, really," Gakuto flatly stated, "But we're getting off track here. What were you saying, Teru?"

"Ah, yes, how they're listening," Teru recalled. He removed his free hand from the window frame and held it out for the other two to see. He instructed them "Watch my hand. Do exactly what I do."

Toshirou and Gakuto complied with his orders. Teru bent his thumb, index finger, and middle forward slightly. They did the same. Then he took his hand and moved it up to his necklace. The other two boys matched his actions perfectly. Lastly, he rested his thumb on the visible side of his necklace and covered part of the inward side with his middle and index fingers. Toshirou and Gakuto did the same thing with their own necklaces. They even made sure to place their fingers on the exact same places on their necklaces.

Once this was accomplished, Teru remained smirking and inquired "Got it figured out yet?"

Toshirou was still uncertain, but Gakuto quickly caught on. He uttered in a quiet voice "The necklaces?"

Teru nodded his head and replied "Correct, Gakuto. They have miniature microphones implanted in the necklaces. I found that out shortly after I left the school when I tried to scratch my Adam's apple. Stumbled upon the mic quite by accident, if you can believe it."

"I can sure as hell believe it," remarked Toshirou, "I'm just glad we finally know how they're listening."

"Indeed," stated Teru, "If ever you want to pass along information that you don't want Furutani and the soldiers to know, either write it down or cover your microphone before speaking. Remember that."

"We'll keep that in mind," Gakuto assured him, "But getting back to what you were saying earlier. What was all that about us all leaving the city alive?"

"That's what's really important," Teru told them, "You see, before I picked up all that lumber, I made a stop by the computer store in B-5. Picked up a laptop and some other useful gadgets. Including some standard Java software."

"How will that help us escape?" queried Toshirou.

"I'm getting to that," Teru retorted, "You remember our final exam project in computer science class?"

"Yeah, we had to write an amateur disruption code," Gakuto recalled, "I was more than a little relieved when I turned it in. That was probably the most frustrating thing I ever worked with in my life."

"Really?" asked Teru, "I found the disruption code assignment to be surprisingly easy. In fact, I made a copy of mine and played around with it for a while afterwards. I continued modifying it to increase its effectiveness and its endurance. I've got it on a flash drive in my pocket right now. Theoretically, it should be strong enough now to wipe out an entire building's electricity grid. I'm going to put that theory to the test and use it to sabotage the Program by attacking it at its heart."

"You're going to use the disruption code on the school?" Gakuto assumed.

Teru smirked once more and nodded his head. "You catch on quickly, I see."

"It wasn't that hard to conclude," Gakuto pointed out, "After all, the school **is **the heart of the Program. Take out the school and the Program's virtually over."

"That's actually a brilliant plan" stated Toshirou, "Just one problem: the school's in a danger zone. How do you plan to transmit the code to the school without getting close to it?"

"That's where **this **comes into play," Teru responded, holding out his harpoon rifle again, "I've set up camp on top of a building in D-5, right on the border of the danger zone. The school is only about a hundred feet north of that position on ground level. The harpoon rifle can easily cover that distance. I'm going to put a series of cables together to make one 150-foot cord. Then I'm going to attach one end of the cord to the harpoon and the other end to an electrical apparatus hooked up to my laptop. My target is a satellite dish on the top of the school. If I can hit it at the base, the cord can become entangled with the circuitry in the dish. Then I can transmit the disruption code into the school's power network. Everything will fall into place from there."

This was a lot to process at once, but Gakuto and Toshirou managed to keep up with everything Teru told them.

"Teru, how many people are you working with?" inquired Toshirou.

"Just myself," Teru replied straightforwardly.

"You're doing all of this… alone?" Gakuto uttered quietly.

"That's correct," Teru affirmed.

Toshirou and Gakuto were beyond impressed. Their gang was composed of six, and they were just busy making chemical weapons. At the same time, Teru was developing his own system malfunction without anyone helping him at all.

"That can't be easy doing all that shit on your own," commented Toshirou, "Do you want any assistance? Maybe we can give you a hand."

"I appreciate the offer," Teru responded gratefully, "But I must decline. I only trust myself to get this thing done right."

"You sure?" asked Gakuto, "I know I swore never to work on computers again after we handed in the final project, but if it means getting us out of here, I'd be willing to break that vow."

"Quite sure," Teru told him, "However, once I have successfully disabled the school's electricity grid, pay very close attention to your surroundings. I'm going to try to cut into the loudspeaker's communication network and make a little announcement of my own. I'll instruct everybody who's left to meet up near the school. From there, we'll work out a plan. If we get enough allies, we should have enough firepower to seize the school and then escape."

"I certainly hope so," remarked Toshirou.

"You're certain that accessing the loudspeakers will be that easy?" Gakuto queried.

"If they're all connected, it should be relatively simple," Teru reasoned, "As soon as I get back to D-5, I'm going to try to access the loudspeaker closest to that building I told you about. I'm going to test out my plan to manipulate the network by playing a song for the entire city to hear."

"What song do you have in mind?" asked Toshirou.

Teru merely smirked and replied with "You'll see. Just keep your ears open. I'm certain you'll hear it sometime before noon, if everything goes accordingly. I think you'll like my choice."

There was a short interval of silence between the three male students. They had been covering their microphones all this time; now they finally removed their hands from their necklaces. Then Teru took out his pocket watch and studied it. "Hmmm, it's already after nine o'clock. I'm running a little behind on my schedule. I better pick up the pace."

"How long do you think it will be before you have the code working?" Gakuto inquired as Teru went to retrieve his lumber.

"I'm not entirely certain," Teru called out to him as he gathered up his wood, "It'll take anywhere from a half-hour to a full hour to set up the Java software and get everything properly running, and another half-hour to test out the city's communication grid. Plus another two hours to rewrite the code. It was originally intended for websites; I have to modify it so that it'll work for electricity generators instead. All-in-all, it should be ready sometime this afternoon."

"I think we can manage that long," Toshirou stated as he put the car back in driving gear. Then he stuck his head out of the window and called out "Teru, I wish you all the luck in the world. I hope your efforts pull through."

Teru had just finished collecting his lumber. He stood up straight and turned back to Toshirou. He smiled at him and remarked "Thanks for that, Toshirou. I'm glad you have faith in me. That's what really motivates all us artists."

Gakuto then rolled down his window and said "Teru, come here for a moment!"

Teru made his way over to Gakuto's window, saying "What's up, Gakuto?"

"I just wanted to let you know," Gakuto replied, "If ever you need any help, our group is gathered at the bar in D-7. Swing by if you need **anything **and I can promise you we'll get it for you."

"Thanks. I'll remember that, too," stated Teru. Then he walked over to the sidewalk, balancing all the lumber in his arms with his harpoon rifle. As he walked on, he called over his shoulder "See you guys soon. As soon as possible."

Toshirou and Gakuto waved to him. Then they rolled up their windows. They both felt a wave of tranquility pass over them. Escaping the Program did not seem impossible to either of them now.

Toshirou put his foot down on the gas pedal and drove on to the hardware store. This time, he did not nod off or close his eyelids. He kept all his attention on the road.

…

There are many different cultures on Earth. While all of them can be profusely different from each other in some regards, one thing they all do have in common is their composition.

Every culture is composed of eight main aspects. Seven of these aspects are widely prevalent in the everyday life of all cultures: Politics, Economy, Society, Language, Tradition, Arts, and Geography.

The eighth aspect is arguably the most dangerous and the most controversial: Religion.

If you were to ask the average Chinaman if he believed in any religion, odds are he would most likely respond with "Religion… is poison." He would even include that pause to emphasize his point.

Japan had a similar approach to religion. Ever since the passage of the Millennium Educational Reform Act, religion had become less and less significant in the Japanese culture with every passing year. But this did not stop people from practicing it.

In Class 3-A, there was one student whose faith in his religion meant more to him anything.

Jakobe Tanaka (Boy #12) was a devoted follower of Buddhism. His entire family had believed in it for many generations.

Jakobe was taking a path through the southeastern part of the city. He had his weapon – a golf club, specifically a driver – in his right hand. He was using it as a walking stick. He actually had no plans to use it as a weapon, unless he had to defend himself.

There are many different types of Buddhism, but all of them emphasize the sanctity of life. This was why Jakobe did not want to play the Program. If he did play, he knew he would disappoint his family, his spiritual trainers, and Buddha himself.

Buddhism holds the belief in rebirth, not to be confused with reincarnation. Reincarnation involves being reborn into a new life in body. Rebirth involves being reborn in both body and in consciousness. Some people associate rebirth and reincarnation as being the same thing; Jakobe's parents made certain he knew the difference.

Buddhists measure their lives by their karma. If they live a good life full of faith and kindness, they will die with a good karma. A good karma allows them to experience rebirth in a higher form of consciousness. On the other hand, if Buddhists live an abysmal life of deceit and doubt, they will die with a bad karma. A bad karma will bring them into a lower level of existence.

Every Buddhist values the sanctity of life. Jakobe was no exception. He had vowed to follow this philosophy to the end of his days. Even in the Program, his ideals did not change. Jakobe promised himself that he would not contribute to the carnage.

At this time, he was making his way through G-8. He walked at a steady pace and looked around at his surroundings. He had no particular destination in mind, but he wanted to keep moving.

He was alone. This was to be expected; Jakobe's stern beliefs had made him somewhat unpopular in Class 3-A. He had plenty of friends, but none of them were particularly interested in religion. Jakobe, on the other hand, spent a good part of his day reflecting on his faith.

Jakobe always defended his faith from critics of religion. While some cultures may disapprove of religion, he pointed out that no government can legally outlaw religion. He was correct; this is considered to be a law of nature. In this type of culture, everyone is still free to practice some form of religion. However, by doing this, they risk facing discrimination and intolerance from their fellow citizens. Jakobe would know, as he lived in this type of culture.

Jakobe also emphasized how no one meant any harm by religion, as the ruling body of Japan was not a theocracy. Some cultures mix politics with religion and allow a theocracy to be the main branch its government. It is debatable that cultures with theocracies have more order established than all other cultures. However, the citizens of such cultures have many less freedoms and privileges. Jakobe pointed out this to show that unlike in theocracies, religion was not imposed upon people in Japan; they could choose on their own to follow it.

Some particularly anti-religious people tried to spite Jakobe by referencing historical conflicts that were caused by religion. For example, one person mentioned how religion was primarily responsible for the Crusades. In Post-Middle Ages Europe, Christians and Muslims were engaged in this vicious power struggle for decades. Both sides committed what is now properly known as religious genocide. Hundreds of thousands of people died for their faith.

Jakobe countered this person by emphasizing that it would be foolish to think the world would be better off without religion. He also pointed out how it played a critical role in world history. Without religion, the Renaissance would have never taken place. Without the Renaissance, most of the greatest intellectuals and artists of all-time would have gone unnoticed. Without them, the Industrial Revolution would not have taken place when it did. And without the Industrial Age, the Computer Age would not have happened when it did.

Jakobe could win any argument about religion; no matter how firm his opponents were, he was even more determined than them.

Needless to say, Jakobe was willing to die for his beliefs, even when he was in the Program.

He had been out on the streets all morning long. So far, he had not encountered anyone. It was nice and peaceful. He hummed a tune as he turned around the corner of the block.

However, as soon as he did, he spotted a body just a few meters away. That made Jakobe freeze on the spot.

"What… is that?" he whispered in shock.

He slowly approached the figure and got a closer look. The figure was clad in a sailor suit; it was one of his female classmates. He looked at the head; a meat cleaver was imbedded in the left cheek.

"Oh, my merciful Buddha," Jakobe muttered. He kneeled down next to the body to get a closer look. The figure had an expression of terror across her face, as if her thoughts were about how she was on the brink of death. Jakobe looked a little closer and realized who it was.

"Ichiko!" he shouted in alarm.

He was kneeling over the body of Ichiko Murakami, one of the few people in his class who tolerated his religious beliefs.

"Who did this to you?" Jakobe breathed out, "What kind of lunatic could have done this?"

Jakobe examined the surrounding area for any indications of what happened. There were no signs of a struggle, but he did notice there was a bloodstain on the ground in front of the body. As far as he could tell, the blood was not Ichiko's.

Two other things caught his eye. The first was a small piece of metal on the ground. Jakobe picked it up and examined it closely. It was a remnant of a bullet. He looked all around Ichiko, but there was no sign of the bullet casing.

Someone had been here before him. That was probably why Ichiko's supply pack was gone.

The second thing Jakobe noticed was that there was a powder spread across Ichiko's blouse. He leaned in closely and took a light whiff. It was gunpowder.

That was when he reached a conclusion: Ichiko must have fired the gun in the first place. Whoever killed her must have taken it. It may have been the same person who took the bullet casing.

"I don't believe this," Jakobe said to himself, "Someone killed Ichiko for her gun."

Jakobe never thought for a moment that maybe Ichiko was the one who started the fight in the first place. He could not imagine her doing such a thing.

He sat next to her body for a moment. They he decided to pray for her soul. He prayed to Buddha and asked him to be merciful to Ichiko. Jakobe thought of her as a highly respectable person, and he wanted her to undergo rebirth into a good life.

When he was done praying, Jakobe picked up his golf club and stood up straight once more. He looked down at Ichiko's body and spoke "I hope you do well in the next life."

Then he turned around and headed towards the west. He wanted to get back into the city before midday.

It was then that Jakobe came to terms with the truth of the matter. He had to be careful; otherwise he could be the next to go.

Little did Jakobe suspect that he was being followed.

**35 Students Remaining**


	17. Breaking Apart

**Note: This is going to be a particularly long chapter. But I trust you'll be pleased!**

In D-7, Osamu Sano was still in the backroom of the bar with Reika Fujihara. It had been over a half-hour since Gakuto Yamashita and Toshirou Oosaki had left to gather together the supplies for the chemical weapons.

Nothing had happened between Osamu and Reika in all that time. They were sitting in chairs on opposite sides of the room. Osamu had his left leg up and he rested his arms on his knee. Reika just sat still and looked down at her feet.

There had been nothing more than a long awkward silence between the two of them in all this time. Reika was waiting for Osamu to talk first. After all, he was the one who wanted to speak with her; it would only make sense that he should have the first word.

All the same, Reika felt profusely uncomfortable being alone with Osamu in a room devoid of noise. She was already certain she knew what he wanted to discuss, but she was beginning to wonder if this was his way of expressing how he felt. Maybe he thought what he had done was wrong, or that he was upset with her for it.

Eventually, she got her answers. Osamu opened up the conversation with "I'm sure you know what this is about."

"I'd have to be as thickheaded as the teacher of our government class if I didn't know," Reika responded, "It's about your… reaction to what I told you when we met this morning."

"That's correct," Osamu confirmed, "I've been trying to forget about it, but I found that I can't. Not without talking about it first."

"I understand," she remarked, "It's been on my mind for a while, too. I guess there's no avoiding it now."

"I can't argue with that," he stated.

There was a little more silence. Then Reika commented "Osamu, I mostly just want to know… why did you kiss me?"

He did not reply immediately. He looked down at his hands and played with his thumbs for a few moments. Then he looked back up and told his friend "To be honest… I don't really know."

Reika had expected him to respond that way. If he had known why exactly he kissed her, he would have told her straight out and saved her this half-hour of unpleasant silence. She told him "What emotions were you feeling at the time? If you can recall that, maybe you can start remembering your reasons."

"Well, I was experiencing… joy, relief, amazement… I was mostly just glad to know that you and the others were safe," Osamu enlightened her, "I think… maybe that was the reason, actually. I remember I wanted to share my happiness with someone, but you were the only person around."

While Osamu's speech was a little abstruse, his logic actually made plenty of sense to Reika. After all, she was the one who often spoke in riddles. She stated "The way you say that… it almost sounds as though you kissed me out of impulse."

"I think you're right," he agreed, nodding his head once, "But that concerns me even more. You know I'm not an impulsive man, right?"

"I do know you're not impulsive," Reika responded. She slyly added in "Some would argue that you're not a man, either. At least not yet. But I think you are."

Osamu scoffed and looked away for a moment. Reika was worried for a split second that she may have actually offended him. But a moment later, he turned back to her with and said "Now everything makes sense. If I kissed you out of impulse, I must have done it because that was all I could think of doing at the time."

Reika raised an eyebrow in interest and queried "What does that mean? Do you mean you kissed me because that was the first ideal reaction that came to your mind or because it wasn't the first time you associated me with such a thing?"

Initially, Osamu was confused by what she was implying. When it dawned on him, he laughed in mild amusement. She joined him a few seconds later with a small, polite snicker.

When he was done laughing, he turned back to her and said "Going with the first idea, I may have indeed kissed you because doing so was the first reaction I thought of, but maybe it was just kissing someone in itself that occurred to me. Who knows; I may have done the same thing had it been anyone else that found me instead of you. Imagine if I ended up kissing Kaminari or any of the guys!"

Osamu laughed out loud again, but this time, Reika did not laugh. She just commented softly "Yeah… that would have been hilarious."

She was actually a little distraught by what Osamu just said. She did not expect Osamu to say he kissed her out of pure affection, but the way he explained himself, he sounded as though he would have kissed anyone – even someone of the same gender – just the same as he kissed her. He would have shared his impulsive kiss with anyone.

When Osamu saw the downtrodden expression on Reika's face, he sat up a little and leaned forward in his chair. He asked in concern "Are you alright, Reika?"

She quickly looked up and replied with "Yes, yes, I'm fine, Osamu. It's just… well… do you really mean that? You honestly felt nothing special when you kissed me?"

Osamu was surprised to hear this from her. He told Reika "I never suggested anything like that. Whatever gave you that impression?"

Reika knew this part of their conversation would be unavoidable. She wanted to put it off as long as possible, but now it had to be addressed. She explained "Osamu, you know that we're all fond of you, right? That includes me, Kaminari, Toshirou, Kazumitsu, and Gakuto."

"Of course I know that," Osamu responded, "The six of us have made quite a team over the past couple years. Just a few hours earlier, you all decided to put off making plans until after you found me. I'd have to be a simple-minded plebian not to know that."

Reika expected this response. She sighed and went on "Well, you see, Osamu… some of us are 'fond' of you in more than one way."

"How so?" he inquired.

Reika tried to look him in the eye, but failed as she answered "In the time we've worked together, I've grown fond of you as our group's leader… and I've grown fond of you as a man."

"Oh, so you do think I'm a man after all?" Osamu joked, referring back to something Reika said earlier on.

She replied straightforwardly with "Yes, a handsome, noble man. One I could see myself with."

This response took Osamu quite by surprise. Only then did he realize he had misinterpreted what she meant when she told him she respected him as a man. She was… attracted to him.

Reika could see in his eyes that he had pieced everything together. She stood up out of her chair and moved off to the side of the room. She leaned against the wall, turning her back to him.

There she stood, waiting for him to respond. She prayed his reaction would not be one based on anger, shock, or any other negative emotion.

Finally, he spoke. All he said was "How long?"

"How long have I been attracted to you?" she assumed that was what he meant.

"Yes," he confirmed. There was no discernible emotion in his voice.

Reika thought back and tried to remember the exact date when she thought of Osamu as more than just her Boss. Then she replied with "It started about six months ago; the day when you stood up to that crime lord at his headquarters all on your own. It takes more than guts and brains to do such a thing like that. That was when it began."

She paused for a moment, and then continued with "That's why I didn't push you away when you kissed me. I enjoyed having that type of contact with you. I wanted it to last even longer than thirty seconds. But I damn well could not have asked you to extend its length. I mean, imagine that; 'Osamu, could you please hold my lips just a little longer?' How stupid and juvenile would **that** sound?"

Once more, there was silence in the room. This silence was even more uncomfortable than the one that lasted a half-hour. Reika kept her back turned towards Osamu in all this time.

After a few moments, she heard him get up out of his chair and walk towards her. She took a deep breath as she waited for him to reach her.

When he did, he placed his hand on her shoulder and said "Would you believe me if I told you're not alone?"

She honestly had no idea what he meant by this. "Alone on what?"

"I know most of our classmates think of me as one of the most rigid, detached people they'll ever meet," Osamu stated, "However, I'm only that way because showing too much emotion over anything could be a sign of weakness. I believe you would say it like this: Beneath my imperturbable façade, I can experience any type of emotion."

"If you really are capable of feeling – and I'm certain you are – then that is indeed what I would say," Reika told him, "But are you saying that… my attraction to you is not one-sided?"

Osamu turned her around so that he could look her in the eyes. He broke into a wide grin and told her "That is exactly what I'm saying, Reika. I know you get this a lot, but I'd have to be a queer not to admire the sight of you."

Reika blushed when Osamu said this, even though she fully understood what he meant.

Reika was considered by most of the male students of Class 3-A to be the most beautiful of all their female classmates. She had a femme fatale-like persona, especially when she was out conducting criminal operations with the rest of the gang.

Several of the boys in their class tried to get her to go on a date with them, but she always turned them down. She was saving herself for one man, even though she was almost certain that this man was unattainable.

Now, it would appear she was wrong about this man's attainability, as he was talking to her right now. And based on what he was saying, the feelings she felt for him were mutual.

"I hope you understand why I never said anything," Osamu told her, "If I showed too much affection for anybody, the Yakuza and our other competitors could have used that against me. Plus, some people would probably have thought of you as nothing more than a whore. I would not permit such a slanderous lie."

Reika was touched by Osamu's words. She placed her hand on his and stated "I don't care what anyone thinks of me, Osamu. Even if they thought I was **your **whore."

Now there were no secrets between the two of them. For the first time, they fully understood each other.

"Reika, if we get out of this, let's start over," Osamu decided, "But this time, we'll be honest with ourselves. And with the others. No more hiding our feelings."

Reika smiled at him and replied with "That sounds like a wonderful idea, Osamu. I'd go anywhere with you, now that you've given me my first kiss."

"Really?" Osamu answered in surprise, "That was your first kiss?"

"Yeah, and whether or not it was meant to be romantic does not matter," Reika affirmed, "All that's important was that you made it my first."

Osamu smirked playfully down at her and asked "Would you like me to give you your second one, as well?"

She smiled and replied "I'd love that."

Osamu placed his hands and Reika's cheeks and pulled her in closely. She took him by his shoulders and tilted her head upward so that her lips were level with his. They both closed their eyes and connected their lips together.

They stayed like this for a long time, savoring the touch of each other's lips. The plainness of the kiss they shared before paled in comparison to the passion this one carried.

A camera had been installed in one of the corners of the room. Osamu and Reika were probably being watched by over half the country at this very moment, but they did not care. At this moment, all that mattered to them was each other.

The camera noticed one thing they did not. It saw the door on the other side of the room open up. It picked up footage of Kaminari Ishida stepping through the door with her mouth open, as if she was going to say something.

When she saw her two friends interlocked in each other's arms, not a word came out of her mouth. But her mouth remained agape.

Shock aligned the edges of Kaminari's face. Before long, that shock was replaced with an expression of anger and malice. However, Kaminari remained silent so that neither Osamu nor Reika noticed her.

After standing there for almost forty seconds, she slipped back out of the room, silently closing the door behind her. Not five seconds after she left, Reika and Osamu finally pulled apart from each other.

It was here that the downfall of the gang began.

…

Back at the school, Shigenori Furutani was still in the teacher's lounge with the soldiers. While they kept themselves occupied with keeping track of the students, he was busy talking on his phone.

"Ah, yes, you wish to place five hundred thousand yen on Boy #14?" he spoke aloud, "Very well, my good sir. A healthy wager, I must say. If you ask me, Nishihara has a decent chance of winning, even after that incident with Boy #6."

Furutani was speaking with a wealthy client who was submitting a bet on who would win this year's Battle Royale. Gambling on the Program contestants was quite popular; and often quite profitable in the government's favor.

So far, more people had bet that on Genji Nishihara than anyone else. Truthfully, Furutani was expecting Genji to win, as well. So far, he was the only player who had killed more than one person. In fact, he had killed three of his classmates: Misaki Ozawa, Chieko Suda, and – most recently – Hitoshi Ohara.

"Duly noted, sir," Furutani acknowledged the client's bet, "Have a nice day."

Then he hanged up and set his phone aside. He had a journal on his armchair. He took a pen and catalogued the most recent wager. He had received over a hundred of them since the morning announcements. By the end of the day, he was certain he would have well over five thousand.

Just then, one of the soldiers at the security station turned around and told Furutani "Sir, I think you should see this."

Furutani rose out of his chair and made his way over to the security station. He placed his hand on the desk and leaned forward a little, allowing his arm to support his weight. As he studied the screen of the security computer, he inquired "Is anything the matter?"

"I'm picking up a breach in one of our systems," the soldier reported.

"Which system?" queried Furutani, leaning in more closely, "Surveillance? Tracking? Sound? Border Patrol?"

"No, sir," answered the soldier, "It's being directed towards the… broadcast system."

"What?" said Furutani, "Why would anyone want to get into **that**? That system covers little more than the loudspeaker network."

"Be that as it may, sir, someone is definitely trying to get inside the broadcast system," the soldier replied.

"Pinpoint source of disturbance," Furutani sternly ordered him.

"Momentarily," the soldier proclaimed. He entered his security code into the terminal and used it to run a diagnostic on the broadcast system. About twenty seconds later, a message popped up on the screen. The soldier declared "Unable to locate."

"What do you mean 'unable to locate?'" Furutani demanded angrily, "The breach could only come from somewhere inside the city; how hard would it be to find a troublemaker in this vicinity?"

"That's just it, sir," the soldier explained as he continued typing on his keyboard, "This does not appear to be any ordinary 'troublemaker.' This was done by someone who obviously knows what they're doing. Somehow, they've managed to block their signal from our sensors."

"Can you at least tell what the intruder is trying to do?" Furutani requested.

"Yes, sir; that's easy enough to determine," the soldier responded, "Whoever it is, they appear to be breaking into the loudspeaker network because… they want to use it."

Furutani seemed to tense down a little when he heard this. He stood up straight and scoffed, saying "Well, whoever it is, they're wasting their time. It's impossible to make a verbal announcement on the loudspeaker network from anywhere in the city but here."

"Sir, I don't think they're trying to use the loudspeakers for **talking purposes**," the soldier stated.

"Why is that?" Furutani queried.

"Because the intruder just uploaded a sound file into the network," the soldier explained, "Based on the file's speed, every loudspeaker in the city will be playing it within the next few minutes."

"Can you block it?" Furutani suggested.

"I'll try," the soldier assured him. He entered a number of different codes into his computer. Each one of them should have been able to locate the sound file and stop it from spreading. But none of them came through. The soldier reported "It's no good, sir. The intruder is using some type of advanced protection algorithm to get past the security mainframe."

"Dammit," Furutani muttered. He started pacing back and forth, trying to think of another alternative to handle this problem. But before he could think of one, the soldier announced "The sound file's everywhere now, sir. Within the next minute, it'll be broadcasted all over the city!"

"Orders, sir?" queried another soldier standing guard.

At this point, every single soldier in the room had turned away from his station and towards Furutani. They waited for him to give them orders on how to confront this security breach.

Ultimately, Furutani just let out a deep sigh and said "Return to your posts. There's nothing we can do to stop the sound file. So just let it pass. It is not as though that sound file could possibly help the students in any way. Let them hear it."

The soldiers realized Furutani was correct. No matter what that sound file turned out to be, it could not possibly tell the students anything about how to remove the necklaces or how to escape the game. Such things were supposedly impossible as long as the Program went on.

By now, you have probably arrived at your own conclusion as to who was responsible for breaking into the broadcast system. If you guessed Teru Machida (Boy #19), you are correct.

The moment he arrived back at the building at the northern border of D-5, he made his way back to the roof and gathered all of his equipment there. As it turned out, there was a loudspeaker on the roof; it was placed on one of the walls of the room that led to the building's stairwell. This would make accessing the communications grid easier than Teru thought it would be.

After setting aside all his lumber and his supply pack, Teru took off his backpack and opened it up. In addition to a laptop, he had also taken a small electronic tablet known in America as an iPad. While he planned to use the laptop to work on his disruption code, he had a different objective in mind for the iPad.

Once he had the iPad up and running, he went to his supply pack, opened it up, and removed a fifteen-foot cable. He had taken over a dozen of these cables from the computer store. He only planned to use about eleven of them, but he brought along extra, just in case some… complications arose.

This particular cable was a banana-to-banana one, meaning both ends of it had a metallic peg. An alligator-to-alligator cable would have had two clips instead of pegs. Teru took one of the banana ends and inserted the peg into a socket on the side of the iPad. It was a perfect fit.

One this was accomplished, Teru removed one of his harpoons from his supply pack. He stood up and went over to the loudspeaker. There was a small metallic box underneath the megaphone. It was padlocked shut, but Teru managed to use the harpoon to twist the padlock off. Once the lock was off, Teru opened the door and came face-to-face with all the circuitry. Most of the wires connected to the megaphone.

There was a device in the center of all the circuitry that contained a clock on the front. It must have been a timer, meaning that the loudspeaker operated on some type of schedule. Only at certain times could it be activated. However, Teru knew a way to bypass the timer. He took his flash drive out of his pocket and inserted it into the port of the iPad. Then he inserted the other peg of the cable into a socket of the timer.

After the iPad identified and authorized usage of his flash drive, Teru opened up three of the files he had on it. Two of them were data codes he had written himself throughout the school year. The other one was a sound file.

Teru used one of the data codes to access the loudspeaker and to make his work untraceable. He used the other data code to bypass the security network and timer.

When Furutani and the soldiers picked up the security breach, they were unaware the source of it was less than two hundred feet away from them. Thanks to the first data code he used, Teru was able to block his position from the soldiers, which gave him an advantage over them.

Once he got into the loudspeaker network, he turned his attention to the sound file. It was an excerpt from his favorite musical.

While Teru had an amazing aptitude for working with computers, he was mostly recognized as a theatrical student by his classmates. He had performed in many musicals throughout his life ever since his elementary school days. Just this year, Keio Shonan-Fujisawa Junior High School had put on his favorite musical, and he had played one of the main roles in it.

The musical itself originated in England, but the setting and story were French in origin. Teru had managed to acquire the original Broadway cast recording album from America on the black market. He thought the lyrics and music sounded much better in their original English form than in their adapted Japanese form.

He thought one of the songs fit the present situation perfectly. This was the song on the sound file. He decided to play it for all his surviving classmates to hear.

After he managed to access the entire loudspeaker network, he uploaded the music file into the broadcast system.

Once Teru managed this, he set the iPad on the ground and rubbed his hands together. He said to himself in satisfaction "In just a few minutes, the song of angry men will resonate throughout the entire city."

…

Back in City Hall, Blaine Rhodes had returned to the mayor's office. He had joined his friends for breakfast. In addition to some of their bread and water, they also had some sealed rations from the bomb shelter. It was not much, but it was filling.

When they were finished, they were about to get back to work reorganizing the office and bringing up the rest of the crates.

Before they got back to work, they heard a high-pitch screeching sound. This was the same sound they heard right before the morning announcements.

"Is that the loudspeaker?" Yuuga Suzuki thought aloud.

"I think it is," stated Kiyomi Takayama.

"How can that be?" remarked Tatsuo Inoue, "It's only ten o'clock; the noon announcements aren't for another two hours."

"I suppose we should just listen anyway," Blaine suggested, "After all, it could be something important."

The four of them quickly quieted down. They expected to hear Furutani again.

However, his voice never came this time. Instead, what they heard was something much more pleasant. They soon heard music. But this was no type of Japanese music. No, this music was much slower and smoother. It sounded like… orchestrations.

A moment later, they finally heard a voice. It was a young male baritone singing. However, he was singing in English. Because of this, Blaine was the only person in the whole of the class who could understand what the singer was saying.

It took him a moment to remember the name of this tune, but once he recognized it, he just smiled in amusement.

Yuuga, Kiyomi, and Tatsuo still had yet to identify the song. Because they could not speak English, they were far behind Blaine.

"This song sounds so familiar," Tatsuo commented as he rubbed his chin.

"He's right," stated Yuuga, "It's almost as if I remember hearing it sometime earlier this year."

"Wait a minute, wasn't it from the school musical?" Kiyomi recalled.

"It was indeed in the school musical, Kiyomi," Blaine answered his girlfriend, "Except – of course – the school's rendition was in Japanese. This is in English."

"I've quite forgotten the lyrics to this song," Yuuga admitted, "Can you tell us what they are saying, Blaine?"

"I'd be happy to," Blaine responded, "The first verse goes like this: 'Do you hear the people sing, singing the song of angry men? It is the music of a people who will not be slaves again.' The second verse goes like this: 'When the beating of your heart echoes the beating of the drums, there is a life about to start when tomorrow comes.' In my opinion, it's the best song in the whole of _Les Misérables_."

Blaine had spoken these lyrics to his friends in Japanese. In fact, it had been over twenty-four hours since had spoken a word of English to anyone.

"I think the verses sound better in English," Tatsuo remarked.

"You and me both, Tats," said Blaine, "Have you ever tried singing in English?"

"Oh, yes; several times," Tatsuo replied, "But it's sometimes really hard to do; the pace is often too slow difficult to keep track off."

Blaine knew very well what Tatsuo meant. A sentence in Japanese often had many more syllables than the English translation of that same sentence. This is why some people think Japanese people have a lot to say when in they may actually be saying very little.

"I understand what you mean, Tatsuo," Blaine told his best friend, "But how about we sing in English right now?"

"You sure, Blaine?" said Tatsuo, "My voice would probably lag along."

"Oh, come on," Blaine insisted, "I've heard you sing before. You're not half bad! Just give this a try."

Tatsuo just shrugged and ultimately gave in to Blaine's suggestion. He stood up next to his best friend and the two of them sang together in English:

"Do you hear the people sing? Singing the songs of angry men.

It is the music of a people who will not be slaves again.

When the beating of your heart echoes the beating of the drums

There is a life about to start when tomorrow comes."

The song would normally end here, but immediately after it meant to silence, the music started up again. Teru had programmed the sound file to repeat itself until he stopped it.

This time, Kiyomi and Yuuga decided to join in the singing just for the hell of having a good time.

By the fifth time the song repeated itself, they all had the song memorized. They even decided to take on the roles of the four people who had solos in the song just for fun. Blaine took on the role of Enjolras, Kiyomi took on the role of Combeferre, Yuuga took on the role of Courfeyrac, and Tatsuo took on the role of Feuilly. This proved to be a rather harmonious symphony.

The song was a total of two minutes long; it was played over the loudspeaker a total of twelve times, lasting almost a half-hour total.

In that half-hour, Blaine and his three Japanese friends felt as if they had found a sanctuary. Singing this song made them feel a sort of rebellious spirit against the tyranny of the Program. They able to reason out on their own that Furutani and the soldiers must not have intended for this song to be announced. That meant someone else must have broadcasted it over the loudspeakers.

Whoever it was, the four of them were grateful for what he or she had done.

All over the city, the song echoed loudly and triumphantly. It was heard by all thirty-five surviving students. While few of them could understand what was being sung, its reception was widely optimistic. To most of the students, it brought a feeling of reassurance and enjoyment.

However, it also unintentionally incited a heated squabble amongst one particular group of five.

…

Daisuke Araki (Boy #1), Kenzou Iwamoto (Boy #3), Shuuichi Kai (Boy #7), Naozumi Matsuno (Boy #20), and Tsukasa Yoshizawa (Boy #22) were on the move. Currently, they were crossing through D-3.

They had left their first hideout at 6:30 this morning, over three and a-half hours earlier. Once they were out of E-2, Tsukasa suggested that they stop to make plans before they went any further. At first, the other boys decided against this idea. But Tsukasa kept insisting that it would be foolish to go on without an organized plan.

Ultimately, he managed to convince the others to stop and make plans. This was mostly because Daisuke and Kenzou were quickly getting annoyed by his insistence and they figured that stopping would be the best way to get him to shut up. Or at least the best nonviolent way.

They spent two hours going over a map of the city, contemplating where to head off to next. They all agreed that it would be wise to get out of the apartment complex as soon as possible. They began considering most of the city's larger foundations as their next destination.

They considered the mall in A-7, the hotel in E-5, and the library in D-4. After much discussion, they decided that these buildings were unfit for staking out. They were all too large and too out in the open.

It was then Tsukasa suggested they go to the theater in B-6. Daisuke and Kenzou both rolled their eyes in response to this proposition. Truthfully, they actually expected Tsukasa to make it, seeing as how he was the head of the school's drama club. Almost always, the theater was the first thing on his mind.

This was why he was so discourteous and ill-mannered to the other boys; he had the patience and the tolerance of a typical professional diva. Some would say he had the ego of one, too.

Daisuke and Kenzou were quick to dismiss the idea of heading to the theater, arguing that it was too close to the school. But Tsukasa assured them he had reasons for going there outside of his own interest. He explained to them that a typical theater was full of secret passages and trap doors that could be locked from the inside. They were there so that the crew of whatever production was playing could move around the sets backstage without making noise.

Kenzou and Daisuke were still hesitant to agree to this, but this time, Shuuichi and Naozumi took Tsukasa's side. They both agreed that secret passages and trap doors would come in handy if the group wanted a secure hiding spot.

They ultimately put it to a vote. Tsukasa, Shuuichi, and Naozumi voted "for" and Daisuke and Kenzou voted "against," coming out 3-2.

Now that the five boys had settled on their next destination, they decided to get moving. This time, Tsukasa did not protest. He was actually starting to get along with Daisuke and Kenzou. Maybe they could learn to respect and tolerate each other after all.

This had all happened in the past few hours. Now it was nearing ten o'clock, and the five boys were crossing through D-3. Every time they came to a new block, Shuuichi and Kenzou scouted ahead to make certain the area was deserted. After giving the all-clear, Naozumi, Daisuke, and Tsukasa would join up with them. So far, they had encountered none of their classmates. Fortune seemed to be in the favor.

As they walked, Tsukasa opened up his supply pack and took out his map. After studying both it and their surroundings for a few moments, he announced "In about a thousand feet, we'll be nearing the northeastern corner of D-3."

"Good, then we're following the right path," Kenzou figured.

"How long do you think it will be before we get there?" inquired Naozumi.

"At this pace, I'd say an hour or two," Daisuke reasoned.

"We should at least get there by the noon announcement," Shuuichi commented, "Of course, there's still the possibility we may run into an ambitious player on the way there. We'd have to take an alternate route to avoid any… encounters."

"Sounds fine with me," said Tsukasa. He put his map back into his supply pack and was about to zip it back up when he noticed something. He pulled out what appeared to be a small telescope. But it was not a perfect cylinder; the bottom of it was irregularly shaped. Then he noticed it had a latch on either side. It reminded him of something.

He took his Winchester Model 70 Rifle and held it up. He noticed that the latch on the cylinder matched some markings on the top of his rifle. That was when he realized it was a scope attachment.

Tsukasa had no idea how he could have overlooked the scope when he assembled his weapon earlier on, but he decided to go ahead and attach it to his rifle.

He stopped a moment to try to slide the attachment into place. But he could not get it to stay put. Daisuke and Naozumi noticed he was not following them and stopped as well.

"Tsukasa, what are you doing?" Daisuke asked in mild annoyance.

"I found a scope in my supply pack," Tsukasa explained, "I want to put it on before I go any further. But I'm having a little difficulty."

"You could ask Shuuichi to help you," Naozumi suggested.

Tsukasa looked up from his rifle and glared Naozumi in the eye. Normally, he always thought it to be below his dignity to ask anyone for help for anything. However, he took a moment to think about this idea. He realized that teamwork would be imperative if the group was going to last. Aside from that, Shuuichi was the only one of his four allies that he was on good terms with.

He sighed lightly and called out "Hey, Shuuichi, you have a moment?"

The marksman-in-training turned around and asked the theatrical student "What's up, Tsukasa?"

Tsukasa held up the scope attachment for him to see and explained "I found this in my supply pack. It must go to my rifle. But I'm having some trouble getting it on."

Shuuichi thought about this request for a few seconds. Then he just shrugged and replied with "I don't see why not."

As he walked over to Tsukasa, Kenzou intervened and stated "Is now really the right time for that? We're out in the open."

"I know," Shuuichi retorted, "But it'll only take a second. Don't worry, Kenzou."

Shuuichi walked over to Tsukasa and was about to show him how to attach the scope to his rifle when all of a sudden, a high-pitched screeching sound filled the air.

At this time, the boys were standing in the middle of the street. When they heard this sound, they stopped in their tracks. They looked around for the source of the noise, and they realized it was coming from a loudspeaker on top of a building.

"What time is it?" Shuuichi asked to no one in particular.

Daisuke took out his pocket watch and answered "Almost ten o'clock."

"Strange," said Shuuichi, "Why would the loudspeakers be on now if the noon announcements aren't for another two hours?"

"I have no idea," stated Kenzou, "But this could be important. Let's listen."

The five of them stood where they were. They were right out in the open, making them an easy target for anyone who might have been playing. But they did not pay attention to this; they gave the loudspeaker their undivided attention.

A moment later, the song "Do You Hear The People Sing" began to play over the loudspeakers. At first, the boys were surprised to hear this playing. However, the music was strangely captivating.

They listened intently as it played over and over again.

"This song sounds so familiar," Naozumi thought aloud, "I can swear I've heard this melody somewhere before."

"Did you by any chance attend the school musical this year, Naozumi?" queried Tsukasa.

"Yeah, I saw it," was the tall boy's answer.

"So did I," Kenzou stated.

"Me, too," said Shuuichi.

"And me," Daisuke remarked, "I saw it twice actually; the school's production of it was quite amusing to watch."

"Well, I always try my best to appease," Tsukasa stated, not even trying to sound modest.

This year, Keio Shonan-Fujisawa Junior High School had put on their own rendition of _Les Misérables_ and Tsukasa had had the lead role of Jean Valjean. He had received high praise from his friends, the faculty, and the rest of the drama club for his performance.

"Right…" Kenzou drily remarked, "Wasn't this that one song that was sung just before that barricade scene?"

"Yes, it's 'Do You Hear The People Sing,'" Tsukasa confirmed, as he balanced his rifle on his shoulder and looked up at the loudspeaker, "Or at least the original English version of it. I'm guessing someone sliced into the network and uploaded it. This isn't the type of song the government would want us to hear."

"Why not?" asked Naozumi.

"Why do you think, you idiot?" Tsukasa answered bluntly, "Hearing a song about the French Revolution would probably incite a rebellion amongst the people in the game,"

Out of nowhere, Daisuke began laughing out loud. The others turned to him in confusion.

"What's so funny, Daisuke?" Naozumi asked his best friend.

When Daisuke finally calmed down, he looked up and said through his laughter "Tsukasa, you actually think the insurrection in _Les Misérables_ was the French Revolution?"

"Well, it did take place in France, and it involved a revolt by the people," Tsukasa pointed out, sounding a little displeased by Daisuke's outburst, "So, yes. I'd suggest you control yourself."

"Sure, I will," said Daisuke, finally calming down, "Right after I give you a little history lesson."

Tsukasa was starting to get very annoyed by how Daisuke was talking to him. But he willed himself to put up with it. He said sarcastically "Proceed."

"The French Revolution took place near the end of the eighteenth century," Daisuke enlightened Tsukasa, "That was decades before the events of _Les Misérables_. No, the rebellion in the musical was the Student Revolution of the 1830s. How could you not know that?"

"That's a minor detail," Tsukasa argued, becoming progressively tenser, "How would you know anyway?"

At this, a solemn expression came across Daisuke's face. He replied straightly with "Because I've actually read the novel. You'd know that if you read it, too. Hell, you would know that if you really were a serious thespian. How can you claim you take theater so earnestly if you don't even know what you're singing about?"

This was what really set Tsukasa off. He could put up with insolence, disrespect, and absurdity, but this he would not have. Everyone knows that the number one way to get on a thespian's bad side is to challenge his credibility as an actor. Daisuke was not being particularly hostile, nor was he trying to offend Tsukasa. However, Tsukasa was a very proud person. While most actors could put up with this type of criticism, he could not. It enraged him.

"Daisuke, shut up," he muttered angrily.

Daisuke scoffed again and said "Oh, I see I hit a nerve. So **that's **what you respond to. Criticism. That's good; 'cause I have a lot of it for you."

Naozumi went over to his best friend and said "Daisuke, stop. We don't have time for this…"

Daisuke held out his hand and replied with "No, Naozumi. I have to get this out." He turned back to Tsukasa and approached him. He told him intensely "I think I get you now, Tsukasa. I understand why you've made yourself the 'leader' of this group. You think you have the skills to be a ruler, but your approach to leadership is not far off from the government's approach. Add that to the fact that you have no idea whatever it is you're talking about whenever you perform, and what does that make you? A puppet."

Tsukasa was on the verge of losing his composure. Daisuke was driving him to his limits.

"Daisuke, stop it!" Shuuichi shouted, trying to end the argument before something unpleasant happened, "Where did all this come from?"

"Why take his side, Shuuichi?" Daisuke responded angrily. Normally, Daisuke was a reasonable person. But his contempt for Tsukasa was finally getting the best of him. He turned back to Tsukasa and told him "If you perform on the stage without even bothering to think about what you're talking about, the government could easily manipulate you into speaking for them. That must be why you are so confident you are going to survive this and why you're trying to be in command; because the government could **use **someone like you."

Tsukasa snapped right then. He lowered his rifle and pointed it directly at Daisuke's chest. He gripped it in both hands and muttered through gritted teeth "Take that back."

Daisuke was startled at first, but that same smirk quickly returned to his face. "You just proved my point. Anyone willing to play this game **is** a puppet of the government."

Tsukasa pulled back the bolt on the action and repeated "I said, take that back!"

"Or what?" Daisuke jeered, "You'll shoot me? Good ahead; you wouldn't last five seconds after pulling the trigger!"

"Is that a fact?" Tsukasa spat, "You'd be gone even sooner if I **do **pull it."

"Then I can safely promise you that you **won't** pull that trigger," Kenzou countered, coming to Daisuke's defense. He stood next to him and raised his Taser, pointing it directly at Tsukasa. Then he said "You make any move towards Daisuke and I'll blast you full of volts, Tsukasa."

Tsukasa scoffed and jeered "You honestly think you can kill me with **that**, Kenzou?"

"I can certainly try," Kenzou retorted, keeping his Taser pointed at Tsukasa "I put up with your shit all morning because I was trying to keep my cool and encourage some cooperation. But threaten Daisuke and you're a dead man. That much I can promise."

"Enough of this!" shouted Shuuichi, stepping forward between the three of them, "Guys, it's behavior like this that's going to get us all killed!"

"Or at least get one of us killed," Daisuke leered, glaring at Tsukasa from over two meters away.

"I'm not the one with a Winchester rifle pointed at his heart," Tsukasa countered, keeping the rifle pointed at Daisuke, "Now I'd suggest you take back what you said. I am **no one's **puppet; least of all the governments."

"Then put the rifle down," Daisuke retorted, "I'll consider taking it back only then."

"This rifle seems to be the only thing you react properly to," Tsukasa noted, "So I'm not lowering it until you disavow that scurrilous insult."

"You're just proving Daisuke's point," Kenzou shot back, keeping his Taser in the air, "I'm beginning to think he was right after all."

At this, Shuuichi pulled out his SIG Sauer P226 Rail and tried to handle the situation in his own way.

"Daisuke, apologize to Tsukasa," he ordered his friend, "Apologize to him NOW!"

"Apologize? Me?" Daisuke remarked, "Why should I apologize for telling the truth?"

"Someone's going to get killed if this goes on!" Shuuichi warned them, holding his gun in the air, "Everybody just calm the fuck down!"

"Tell him that!" Daisuke yelled, gesturing towards Tsukasa.

"You started this argument!" Tsukasa shouted furiously.

"And if you don't put that gun down, I'll end it!" Kenzou threatened.

"In the name of God, **EVERYONE STOP**!" Shuuichi cried, pointing his gun in the air.

_**BANG!**_

Naozumi closed his eyes just before the gunshot. It took him completely by surprise.

He kept his eyes closed for almost thirty seconds before he finally opened them.

The first thing he saw was Shuuichi looking in perplexity at his handgun. Obviously he had not been the one who fired. Which meant that Tsukasa must have fired.

Naozumi looked over at Kenzou and Daisuke. They were looking themselves over for bullet wounds. But they had none, much to Naozumi's relief.

Naozumi also noticed that Tsukasa still had his finger on his gun's trigger, and the action was still in place. This meant that the rifle had not been fired yet.

"What just happened?" Naozumi timidly asked the others.

"I have no idea," Shuuichi answered, looking over his gun, "That was definitely a gunshot we just heard. But I certainly didn't fire."

"Then who did?" asked Kenzou. He lowered his Taser and turned to Tsukasa. "Did you… shoot at us?"

That was when the others noticed something unsettling. Tsukasa was standing perfectly still. He was not moving a single muscle. It was as if he was petrified.

Daisuke took a step forward. A moment ago, he had venting his anger on Tsukasa. Now, he seemed to be deeply concerned about him. He asked nervously "Tsukasa… are you okay?"

Ten seconds later, they got their answer. Tsukasa's eyes rolled back and he collapsed onto his back.

Instinctively, the other four boys rushed to his sides. He started coughing very weakly, as if he could barely even breathe properly.

Kenzou and Naozumi did their best to help him sit up. Kenzou had placed his hand on Tsukasa's back. When he withdrew it, he almost jumped back in shock. His hand was covered with blood.

Daisuke, Shuuichi, and Naozumi noticed this. The four of them quickly turned Tsukasa onto his stomach and saw what the problem was. He had been shot in the back, right above his heart.

Shuuichi jumped to his feet, griping his handgun in both of his hands. He pointed it in all directions, keeping his eyes open for anyone.

"Who's there!" he shouted, "Show yourself, murderer!"

"Tsukasa's not dead yet," Naozumi politely pointed out.

"Doesn't matter," Shuuichi remarked, "Only a willing killer would do something like that!"

_**BANG!**_

Out of nowhere, they heard another gunshot. A bullet hit the ground just a foot away from Kenzou.

"Fuck!" Kenzou shouted as he hastily moved away from that spot.

"What the hell's going on?" screamed Daisuke, frantically looking around.

_**BANG!**_

This time, the bullet just barely missed Shuuichi's head and broke a window on the wall behind him.

That was what incited Shuuichi to look up. The first thing he saw was a skyscraper. It was in C-2, almost a mile away. However, there was something about it that caught his eye.

He focused his attention on the building, and before long, he could make out what appeared to be a figure on the roof. Even from this distance, Shuuichi's sharp eyes could tell that this figure was armed.

"Sniper!" he screamed at the top of his voice, "Quick! Find some cover!"

The four unharmed boys scrambled to get out of the clearing. Naozumi and Daisuke ran for the alley across the street while Kenzou and Shuuichi ducked behind the alleyway just a few meters away from Tsukasa. Shuuichi noticed that the scope to Tsukasa's rifle had fallen near the alley. He picked it up just before he passed into it.

He and Kenzou stood up against the wall of the alley so that the sniper could not see them. Once he was certain they were safe in the shadows, Shuuichi looked down at the scope attachment. It was an 8x43 Unertl scope, the standard type that came with the Winchester Model 70 Rifle. It could be adjusted to see over a mile away.

Shuuichi turned around the corner of the alley and looked up at the top of the skyscraper for a moment. It was quite far away, but the scope could probably cover the distance.

Just as Shuuichi was about to put the scope up to his eye, he heard a voice quietly mutter "Shuuichi…"

Shuuichi looked a few meters away and saw Tsukasa was looking at him. He was lying flat on his stomach and struggling to stay conscious. In all the turmoil, the others had left him lying right out in the open; he was in plain view of the sniper.

"Tsukasa, don't move!" Shuuichi quietly urged his wounded friend.

Tsukasa did not seem to be paying attention. He tried his hardest to lift himself up off the ground, but he could not. He was too weak to even crawl to safety.

"Don't move!" Shuuichi repeated desperately.

After a few moments, Tsukasa lifted his arm into the air. He slid off the strap that went to his rifle and pulled his gun out from underneath him. He then took a hold of the gun with both hands.

"What's he doing?" Kenzou whispered as he and Shuuichi watched.

"I don't know, but he's going to get himself killed if he doesn't stop," Shuuichi said in response.

A moment later, Tsukasa bent his arms back and thrust them forward. His rifle slid across the stone ground towards the alley. It ended up less than ten feet away from Shuuichi.

Shuuichi looked confused at first. He stared down at the rifle and then looked up at Tsukasa. To his horror, Tsukasa was trying to sit up. Once he was partly above the ground, he weakly uttered "Shoot the bastard down."

_**BANG!**_

A fourth gunshot resonated throughout the area. Unlike the first three, the bullet from this one hit its target spot on. It sailed straight through the back of Tsukasa's head and exited right below his nose, clearing straight through his skull. Blood splattered all over the area in front of him.

Immediately after this, Tsukasa collapsed face down on the stone ground. He remained as still as a statue.

Shuuichi had warned Tsukasa not to move. Now he would never move again.

…

It had been a mostly unproductive morning for Goro Shiroi (Boy #10). He had set up his Zastava M76 up on the roof of the Insurance Building at five o'clock, and nothing much had happened since then.

An hour later, the morning announcements had taken place. A loudspeaker had actually been installed on the roof (obviously the army wanted to make certain the announcements could be heard from every single corner of the city).

Goro was a little saddened to hear that his friend Chieko Suda was already dead. But at the same time, he was somewhat relieved he would not have to kill her himself. None of the others on the list of the dead affected him as much as Chieko.

That had been four hours ago. Four hours had been a long time to wait alone in silence. But the time had taken its toll on Goro's mind.

He had spent the remaining four hours of that time looking around the city through the scope of his sniper rifle.

When he first came up to the roof, he planned to just shoot at anyone coming his way, as a sort of self-defense maneuver. However, no one had even come close to C-2 in all that time. One would think Goro would have been thrilled that none of his classmates were approaching him. Quite the contrary, it made him suspicious and paranoid. Why was no one coming to him?

A few times, Goro considered switching his position to a different spot on the roof. But then he thought about how much time it would take to gather his equipment and set it back up again. Truthfully, it would have taken him five minutes at most, but he knew a lot could happen in five minutes. What if someone came along while he was preoccupied and managed to slip into the building right under his nose? Fate would certainly get a good laugh at his expense should that happen. So Goro decided against moving around the roof.

Before long, he changed his objectives. Instead of shooting down anyone who approached the building, he would just shoot on sight.

The roof of the skyscraper was by far the highest point in the city. From this altitude, Goro could practically see the whole town. In the distance, he had seen many people moving around, but they were well out of range for his sniper rifle.

The fact that everyone was so far away made Goro even tenser. He began to become obsessed with finding a target. In four hours, he had gone from hoping everyone would stay away from him to hoping that they would all come to him instead!

Finally, they came.

About a mile southeast of his position, Goro spotted five of his classmates moving through D-3. They were moving at a quick pace, but he kept his focus on them by watching their every movement through his scope. He wanted to wait until they stopped before he did anything else with his rifle.

He could see that all five of them were wearing uniform suits, so they all must have been boys. If any of them were girls, they would have been wearing sailor suits instead.

The scope was not able to give him a close up of their faces, however. He was unable to identify who they were. But that did not really matter to him.

At one point, one of the boys stopped walking. From what Goro could tell, he appeared to be taking something out of his supply pack. One by one, the others stopped moving as well and went back over to him.

It was then that Goro noticed that the first boy who stopped was holding a large rifle. Another was armed with a tomahawk, and the other three were either unarmed or holding a small item for a weapon.

Goro decided to take out the boy with the rifle first. He locked the action of his rifle into place and flipped the safety off. Then he gripped his sniper rifle with both hands and concentrated his aim on the boy with the rifle.

Just before he aimed, he heard the loudspeaker come online. He was surprised to hear the loudspeaker come online two hours earlier than intended. Like everyone else in the city, he stopped what he was doing to listen. He was expecting to hear Furutani's voice again. But that was not what he heard. Instead, he heard… music.

The music was slow and steady, like a show tune. A moment later, Goro heard singing accompany the music. The words were in English; he could not understand them. However, he did like the beat and the rhythm. The song even soothed him in a strange way.

For the briefest of moments, Goro even considered putting down his rifle and not using it after all. That is, until something caught his attention.

The five boys on the ground below appeared to have moved around a little. Goro picked up his sniper rifle and looked through his scope. That was when he saw it.

The boy with the rifle was pointing his weapon at one of his companions. Another of them appeared to be pointing a small handheld device at the boy with the rifle, as if he was standing up for the unarmed boy.

That was what snapped Goro back to attention. It made him realize that there are no allies in the Program; everyone in the city was a threat to his safety.

Goro took aim again and focused his attention on the boy with the rifle. After about thirty seconds of mental preparation, he carefully lined up his shot and fired.

The gun had a slight tendency to kick, and it was much louder than he thought it would be. But when he recovered his grip and looked through the scope again a few seconds later, he saw that he had not missed. The boy with the rifle was on his back and the other four were gathering around him. Goro smirked when he saw this; if they flocked together, it would make them all the more easy to pick out.

A moment later, one of the boys recoiled and stood up. Goro thought he was going to make a run for it, so he aimed again and fired. He ended up hitting the ground in front of the boy this time.

Then he noticed that another of the boys had a handgun in his hand. Without taking much time to aim, he fired again. He missed once more, hitting a window behind the boy instead.

Something really peculiar happened next. The boy with the handgun tilted his head upwards. Goro felt as if this boy was actually staring at him. It chilled his blood just to think of such a thing.

A moment later, the boy opened his mouth and shouted something to the others. He and the other three who were still standing ran for cover. Two of them headed for the alley across the street while the other moved into an alley just a few meters away from the boy on the ground.

Nothing happened for about a minute, but Goro kept a close eye on the vicinity. Then he noticed that the boy on the ground was not dead. He had only been wounded. Goro decided he would remedy that. He focused his attention on the boy's head this time and waited until his shot was lined up. He watched as that boy slid his rifle towards the alley closest to him; the alley where two of his companions were hiding out. It only covered half the distance between the two points. Goro did not have to worry about the other boys reaching it from there.

A moment later, he saw the wounded boy try to sit up. Once he did, Goro had a perfect shot. He squeezed the trigger again.

When he recovered from this shot, he looked through the scope. The boy on the ground was now lying face down without moving a muscle.

Goro started cackling madly. He muttered under his breath "Target annihilated."

He did not celebrate just yet; he had only taken out one of the boys. There were still four more of them in the area, and they had taken cover. However, they were trapped. There was no way they could get out of the vicinity without exposing themselves to Goro again.

All he had to do was wait and they would eventually come out.

"Easy pickings," he said jokily, "That's what I call easy pickings."

…

Shuuichi was frozen with shock. Lying twenty feet away from his hiding spot was Tsukasa's body. A pool of blood was slowly spreading beneath his head.

However, what shocked him even more was Tsukasa's last request. The theatrical student had asked him to use a weapon against another of their classmates.

Shuuichi had fired dozens of guns throughout his life at his uncle's firing range. He had gone hunting with his father and uncle many times, as well. He had shot many different birds and animals. But he had never shot anything with ankles and opposable thumbs. And he had certainly never shot anything that wore clothes.

All his experience with firearms could not have prepared him for something like this.

Maybe it was possible to get out of the sniper's line of fire. He and the others might be able to get out of the sniper's range. If they did, they would not have to fight back.

Shuuichi turned around and looked into the alley. There was a gate set up about halfway from either entrance of the alley. Shuuichi told his companion "Kenzou, check to see if that gate is locked."

"I'm on it!" Kenzou acknowledged. He turned and ran halfway down the alley. When he reached the game, he tried to open it. To his misfortune, it was padlocked shut. The gate was over thirty feet tall; it would be impossible to climb.

"It's locked, Shuuichi!" Kenzou reported to his friend.

"Dammit," Shuuichi swore under his breath. He looked around the alley for another way out. All the windows were barred and there were no ladders or doors into either building. They were trapped.

Kenzou ran back over to Shuuichi and told him "Guess that leaves us with only one option. We'll have to take that sniper out. Think you can make the shot from here?"

"Yeah… of course," Shuuichi muttered quietly, looking away from his friend.

Kenzou noticed that Shuuichi seemed uncomfortable about this prospect. He placed his hand on his back and asked him "Is something wrong?"

"I've never shot a man before," Shuuichi confessed.

"That psychopath will shoot us all if we don't get rid of him first," Kenzou countered, "And you're the only one who's been trained to fire a rifle. You're our only hope."

Shuuichi was grateful for these words, but he was still struggling with himself inwardly. If he did what Kenzou suggested, he would be saving his friends but violating his own code of ethics. And if he did not, he would be able to keep his morals, but he would practically be sentencing himself and the others to death anyway.

Ultimately, Shuuichi reluctantly decided that Kenzou was correct. This had to be done, no matter how unpleasant it sounded to him.

"Alright, I'll do it," Shuuichi agreed. Kenzou smirked and patted him on the back.

Shuuichi took the scope from Tsukasa's rifle in both hands and turned around the corner of the alley. He pointed it upwards towards the top of the skyscraper and focused it on the roof. He adjusted the scope to get a closer look.

Even on maximum, he could not get a close-up of the sniper's face. However, he was able to make out the model he was carrying.

"Who's up there?" queried Kenzou.

"Can't tell; his rifle is obstructing his head," Shuuichi replied, "But he's armed with a Zastava M76 Sniper Rifle. I know this model: Yugoslav in origin, gas-operated action bar, ZRAK ON-M76 4x 5°10' scope attachment. That might give us an advantage; that scope can only see a maximum of three thousand feet away."

"What about its ammunition?" said Kenzou.

"It utilizes 7.92 x 57mm Mauser cartridges from Germany" Shuuichi reported, "The feed system to the Zastava M76 uses a detachable box magazine; ten bullets to a magazine."

"And if he's fired four shots already…" Kenzou thought aloud, rubbing his head, "So he's got six more shots before he'll have to reload."

"Whenever he **does **reload would probably be the best time to take him out," Shuuichi reasoned, "My handgun cannot cover more than a hundred meters. I'm going to need Tsukasa's rifle; it can shoot up to three kilometers away. Problem is… it's too far for me to reach."

"Then we'll need to create a diversion," Kenzou decided, "How long do you think it will take you to set up the rifle?"

"Well, it's already armed and the safety is off," stated Shuuichi, "But I'm going to need at least fifteen seconds to attach the scope to the top and anywhere from ten to twenty seconds to line up my aim. In all that time, I'd still be out in the open."

"I have an idea," Kenzou stood up and looked across the street. Daisuke and Naozumi were hiding near the entrance to this alley. Naozumi was gripping his tomahawk, but Daisuke had not armed himself just yet. Kenzou called out "Hey, Daisuke, can you hear me?"

Daisuke turned towards him and replied "Yeah, I hear you just fine! What's up?"

"Do you still have your fire extinguisher with you?" Kenzou inquired.

Daisuke looked down at his supply pack, unzipped it, and opened it up. He pulled out a small but heavy red canister and held it in the air, yelling back "I got it right here!"

"Do you know how to use it?" asked Kenzou.

"Yeah, I do," Daisuke responded, "Why do you ask?"

"Listen closely!" Kenzou ordered him, "Shuuichi's going to try to take out that sniper. But he'll need at least twenty-five seconds to prepare Tsukasa's rifle, meaning he'll be out in the open for that long. We have to divert the sniper's attention away from him while he works."

"How can my fire extinguisher help?" asked Daisuke.

"See if you can run around the street and create a thick cloud of mist," Kenzou instructed him, "If you can manage this, you should be able to keep yourself hidden from the sniper's view and distract him long enough for Shuuichi to get ready."

For a few moments, Daisuke did not respond. He needed to think about this proposal. He was not certain he wanted to put himself in this type of danger.

Then he realized that if he did not, Shuuichi would be vulnerable. Aside from that, he, Naozumi and the others would still be trapped.

Daisuke took a deep breath and looked across the street at Kenzou. He called out "I'll do it!"

He was about to step forward when Naozumi placed his hand on his shoulder. Daisuke turned to his best friend and saw the look of concern on his face. It was a look that plainly said "Don't do it."

"I have to do this, Naozumi," Daisuke told him, "You saw what the sniper did to Tsukasa; we have to make sure that same thing does not happen to us. This is the only way we can all get out of here alive."

Naozumi looked on in silence for a while. Then he sighed and nodded his head. All he said was "Be careful."

Daisuke nodded his head and smiled at his friend. Then he turned around and ran back out into the street. He raised the pump of his fire extinguisher into the air and pulled the handle down. The thick mist started emanating from the nozzle. Daisuke began running in circles near Tsukasa's body, making the cloud of mist bigger and thicker all the time.

It did not take long for him to catch the sniper's attention.

_**BANG!**_

_**BANG!**_

_**BANG!**_

Three shots were fired one after the other. All of them missed Daisuke by over a meter.

"Seven rounds fired," Kenzou noted, "Three more and he's empty."

"Excellent," stated Shuuichi, keeping his eyes on the rifle further back.

_**BANG!**_

Another shot was fired. This one broke another window on a building. Daisuke remained unharmed. He was now immersed in the cloud of mist.

"How you holding, Daisuke?" Kenzou called out.

"I'm doing just fine!" Daisuke replied through his deep breathing. He was running at a fast pace to keep the sniper confused. "I'm actually enjoying this!"

"Well, keep it up!" Shuuichi ordered him, "Two more shots and he'll have to reload! Then I'll take over!"

"You got it!" was Daisuke's response.

_**BANG!**_

The ninth bullet hit the lamppost by the alleyway. So far, this bullet had been the most off-target out of them all.

"Wow, this guy's a really bad shot," commented Kenzou, "How the hell did he even manage to hit Tsukasa in the first place?"

"I'm guessing he just got lucky," Shuuichi theorized, keeping his attention on the rifle, "But luck won't be in his favor much longer; this next bullet will be his last."

"I certainly hope so," stated Kenzou

_**BANG!**_

The boys could not see where this bullet ended up. It had not hit any window, stone, or brick as far as they could tell. But that did not matter to them.

Shuuichi dove towards the Winchester rifle and scooped it up in his arms. He took the scope attachment and hastily went to work connecting it to the top of the rifle. He soon heard it lock in place.

Once the attachment was on, Shuuichi shouldered the rifle and pointed it at the top of the skyscraper. He looked through the scope and focused it towards the roof. He could see the sniper was reloading his weapon with another magazine.

Shuuichi took a deep breath and lined up his shot. It was now or never. But it was also him… or them. An easy choice to make.

Shuuichi squeezed his finger on the trigger.

_**BANG!**_

The Winchester buckled, but the round sailed over a mile into the air. Shuuichi kept his eye on the scope and gazed at the top of the skyscraper. The sniper had let go of his weapon and he was griping his throat with both hands. He had been hit.

"Got him!" Shuuichi proclaimed in triumph.

Kenzou and Naozumi stepped out of their hiding spots and cheered. Shuuichi got up off the ground and smiled in satisfaction.

Kenzou patted him on the back and said "Good job, Shuuichi. Is he dead?"

"No, but I got him in the throat," Shuuichi replied, "He'll be dead soon enough."

"That's good enough for me," commented Naozumi. He looked over to the mist and called out "Nice job creating a distraction, Daisuke!"

Naozumi expected his best friend to reply with a witty remark. But there was no response.

"Daisuke?" Kenzou asked in perplexity, "You still with us?"

The three boys looked over to the cloud of mist. It was starting to evaporate, but they still could not see through it. They waited for Daisuke to say something.

A moment later, they heard a weak moan come from the cloud of mist. Thirty seconds later, it had mostly let up. They saw Daisuke was lying on the ground, clutching his chest. Only then did the other boys realize where the sniper's tenth bullet ended up: in Daisuke's chest cavity.

"Daisuke's been hit!" Shuuichi shouted in alarm.

He and Naozumi promptly ran over to Daisuke's aid. The latter of them was horrified to see his best friend bleeding out of his chest. Shuuichi took a towel out of his supply pack.

"Shit, this is bad," he muttered under his breath as he tried to stop the bleeding with the towel by applying pressure to Daisuke's wound. Naozumi was frantic at this point.

"We have to get him somewhere safe," he told the others.

"Right," Shuuichi remarked. He looked over his shoulder and asked "Kenzou, check your map; see if there's a medical center anywhere in the city."

Kenzou nodded his head and opened his supply pack. He took his map and skimmed over it for anything with a medical symbol on it. After a moment, he announced "There's a hospital in F-5. That's only two squares south and two east of here."

"That'll do," Shuuichi replied, trying to help Daisuke sit up and asking him "Can you stand?"

Daisuke weakly shook his head. It was difficult enough for him to sit up.

"We'll have to carry him," Shuuichi told Kenzou and Naozumi.

"I can handle that," stated Naozumi. As stated before, Naozumi was distinguished by his friends as a gentle giant. He certainly had the size, mannerisms, and strength to prove it. He took his best friend into his arms and lifted him up off the ground. He was delicate with him, making certain he was comfortable. Or at least as "comfortable" as he could possibly be with a bullet in his chest.

Shuuichi looked over his shoulder and asked "Kenzou, how's Tsukasa?"

Kenzou kneeled down next to the theatrical student and placed his middle and ring fingers on his neck. He could feel no pulse, so he turned to Shuuichi and informed him "He's dead."

"I suspected as much," Shuuichi bluntly stated, "Bring along his supply pack. It still has the ammunition to his rifle. On that subject, catch!"

Shuuichi tossed the rifle towards Kenzou, who caught it with his free hand. Kenzou seemed surprised that Shuuichi gave him this weapon. He asked him "You sure you want me to hold this?"

"Quite sure," answered Shuuichi, pulling out his handgun, "I already have this. I figured it would be best if more than one of us carried a gun."

"Makes sense to me," Kenzou retorted as he picked up Tsukasa's supply pack and shouldered it.

Daisuke's fire extinguisher had rolled away down the street. The boys decided not to recover it, as it was mostly empty. It was not even heavy enough to make a decent club anymore.

"Let's move!" Shuuichi declared.

The group changed direction and headed off to the southeast. One of their numbers was dead; another would be follow if they did not get to the hospital soon.

"Hang in there, Daisuke," Naozumi whispered to his best friend.

…

Goro had no idea what went wrong.

A few moments earlier, he had seen one of the boys run out into the street. Out of nowhere, a cloud of mist started forming around the boy's head. He ran all over the area to make the cloud larger and thicker. Goro had let off three shouts without even bothering to put much effort into aiming. He missed all three times.

He tried focusing all his attention on the cloud of mist after this. Two of his shots ended up breaking a window and hitting a lamppost respectively.

However, his tenth and final shot seemed to have hit something; he had seen a small patch of red rise up from the center of the mist. It must have been blood.

Goro smirked in satisfaction once more. However, when he pulled the trigger again, nothing came out. The magazine was empty.

Goro quickly unlocked the action and pulled out the magazine. Then he tossed it aside and turned to his supply pack. He reached over and removed another full magazine. He carefully inserted it into the feed system and locked the action in place once more.

Just before he could take up his firing stance again, he heard a gunshot in the distance. This made him pause out of confusion. Even though he knew very little about guns, he did know that only a long-range weapon could make that type of noise. Whoever fired it must have been in the area.

However, just five seconds later, Goro felt a sharp pain in his throat, as if he had been stabbed with a small metal rod.

Goro dropped his sniper rifle and gripped his throat with both hands. Blood began spouting from the spot the pain was most intense.

That was when it dawned on Goro; he had been shot. In the throat, no less.

"Who the hell… could have done this…?" he muttered weakly to himself. He actually had it figured out on his own; one of the boys on the ground must have picked up the rifle and fired at him.

"This can't be," he mumbled in agony, "It's not fair… I have the higher altitude… I have the better weapon. How could he have hit me?"

While Goro mused over his misfortune, he felt himself getting dizzy and sick to his stomach. He had the taste of lead in his mouth. When he tried spitting to get the taste out of his mouth, he spat a bit of blood onto the ground next to him.

Goro collapsed onto the ground. He tried his hardest to stay awake, but he was quickly fading away.

In his last moments, Goro thought about his family. His primary motivation for playing was to get his parents to finally notice him and be proud of him for once. Now he would never gain their praise.

Goro turned around and saw the room on the roof. It was the room he had come up from. He saw that a camera had been set up next to the loudspeaker.

Seeing this camera gave Goro an idea. He wanted to have a final word, in case his family was watching. He kept his left hand over his wound and he used his right arm to drag himself across the roof. It took him a while, but he eventually reached it.

Once he did, he looked up at the camera and cleared his throat as best he could. He said quietly but articulately "Mother, Father… if you're watching this right now… I want to ask you something: Why? Why didn't you ever notice me? I always… tried my hardest to gain your attention, but you never gave it to me. Why was that? Just because… I was the youngest of five… I did not deserve any… acknowledgement for my work? That's all… I ever wanted… from you. Was that… too much to ask for?"

Goro wanted to vent his frustration out while he could. He had been holding these feelings for a long time, and now he wanted to get them out before he left the game.

Goro coughed up a bit more blood, but remained focused on the camera. He looked up at it, determined to voice his mind. There was one more thing he needed to address.

"Shinzo… if you're there," Goro weakly said to the camera. He paused to regain his breath, and then he finished with "Tell Miyo … I'm sorry… I'm sorry that I won't make it to… her birthday party next month. You'll find her present… underneath my bed. Please give it to her… and tell her I love her."

Goro was talking to his eldest brother Shinzo now. Miyo was Shinzo's five-year-old daughter; she would be turning six years old the following month. Goro had bought her present a few days earlier and wrapped it himself.

Miyo was the one person in Goro's family that acknowledged his talents and achievements. He loved her more than any other member of his family for this alone.

Goro laughed regretfully for a moment and commented "I suppose… she's the only one… who will actually miss me anyway. If she asks… why I'm not at her party… please don't tell her… what happened to me. Just… make something up… but don't lie to her. I don't… want her to see me… like this."

Unbeknownst to Goro, his entire family was watching the Program at this time at the Shiroi household, and the camera in front of him was being played on the live broadcast. His mother was already in tears, and his father was beside himself with grief. His brothers could barely even stand to watch.

Shinzo was sitting next to his wife Hitomi, trying to comfort her.

Miyo was supposed to be taking a nap at this time. None of them had noticed that she had walked into the room just a minute earlier.

Initially, when she saw her favorite uncle on the television, she was a little excited. But not three seconds later, she saw that he was bleeding from his neck. Her excitement was replaced with shock and doubt.

She listened to her uncle's dying words, and she started welling up. She said softly "Uncle Goro's… not coming home?"

It was then that everyone else noticed she was in the room. Her grandfather turned to his eldest son and commanded him "Shinzo, get her back to bed. Now!"

Shinzo nodded his head, stood up, and picked up his daughter. He whispered through his own tears "C'mon, sweetie. You… you shouldn't be seeing this."

Miyo struggled in her father's grip, focusing on the television. She shouted "No! NO! He can't go! He can't leave us!"

Shinzo tried his hardest to pacify her, but he could not; not while he was grieving over the same thing.

He took his daughter to the guest bedroom, which was where he was staying with her and his wife. They had just arrived this morning. The entire family had gathered home as soon as they heard Goro had been selected for the Program.

Shinzo tucked Miyo into bed and tried his hardest to get her to go back to sleep.

By the time he got back to the living room, it was too late. He had missed his brother's passing.

In his last moments, Goro had finally gotten his entire family's attention. But he did not know of this. His last thoughts were of how he would go unnoticed.

In his mind, he had died alone.

**Boy #22 Tsukasa Yoshizawa – Dead**

**Boy #10 Goro Shiroi – Dead**

**33 Students Remaining**


	18. Under The Surface

**Note: I'd like to thank AnimeKing1108 for the review. I'm glad you're enjoying this fanfic.**

**What you said about there being no "joke weapons" yet was not entirely true. Remember that Genji originally had a box of thumbtacks in Chapter 9? And Kazuki was given a dagger with a retractable blade in Chapter 7. Several members of the class still have yet to be introduced; some of them will have joke weapons, too.**

**I would include more of the families' POVs, but I mostly just did it with Goro because up until this point, he's the only person whose primary motivation for playing the game was to impress his family. Aside from that, I'm concerned that if I do too much of the families' POVs, then this fanfic would become overly sentimental. Not that there's anything wrong with sentiment, but too much of it could ruin a good thing. For example, take the movie E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial. It had a great premise, but it had waaaaay too much sentiment for me. At least the extended version of it, I mean.**

**By the way, I wish you luck on your own fanfic. Hope you do well on it. Took me weeks of planning to outline this one.**

**On with the chapter!**

Kazumitsu Hayashi (Boy #16) had spent almost all of the past ninety minutes sorting out the inventory of the bar in D-7. As it turned out, almost half of the bottles had over 75 percent alcohol content. Kazumitsu was pleased with this turnout; it was much larger than he expected it to be. Despite the pub's modest appearance, it had an extensive selection of full-bodied beers, wines, and liquors.

For the first hour, he had been working with Kaminari Ishida (Girl #2). Less than a half-hour earlier, Kaminari had decided to go to the backrooms to find Osamu Sano (Boy #9) and Reika Fujihara (Girl #19) and inform them of the progress they had made.

She had returned ten minutes later with a glum expression across her face. Kazumitsu was surprised to see Kaminari this way; she was not easily depressed. However, her mood was not the utmost important thing on his mind. So he just dismissed her sullenness and went back to sorting out the remaining bottles.

Kaminari had been helping him before she went to the backrooms. When she got back, she did not even offer him her assistance again. All she did was sit down at a table and stare at the ceiling crossly. Kazumitsu decided against asking for her help; he doubted she would be willing to give it while she was this upset.

At approximately 10:30 – less than ten minutes after that unscheduled loudspeaker announcement ended – Kazumitsu finally finished his task of sorting out all the bottles. Everything with at least 75 percent alcohol he placed on the bar while he left everything with a smaller percentage in its place. He had a feeling Gakuto would be quite satisfied with this stash.

The job done, Kazumitsu decided to take a break and have some rations. He had not eaten anything in over fifteen hours, and he was starting to get hungry. After all, everyone needs to eat right in order to keep up with his or her metabolism; this was especially important in Kazumitsu's case, as he was the largest student in Class 3-A.

Kazumitsu picked up his supply pack off the ground and walked over to the table Kaminari was seated at. He pulled out a chair and sat down. He was leaned backwards to rest his back when he was abruptly stopped before he could feel the back of the chair. This took him quite by surprise. That was when he realized that he was still wearing the backpack that went to his flamethrower. He had been wearing it for over seven hours. The backpack and the gun weighed about thirty-five pounds total, but they felt rather light to Kazumitsu. In fact, he was one of the few people in the class who could have carried such a weight on his back so long without it bothering him.

However, if he wanted to sit in a chair restfully, the flamethrower would have to come off. So Kazumitsu slipped his arms through the backpack's straps and carefully lowered it to the ground behind him. Once it was off, he was able to lean all the way back.

Once Kazumitsu was comfortably settled, he opened up his supply pack and pulled out a loaf of bread. He unwrapped it from its plastic package and tucked right in. The bread did not have much in the way of flavor or body, but it was still filling.

As Kazumitsu ate, he turned to Kaminari. She was still staring up at the ceiling with that same solemn expression across her face.

Kazumitsu did not typically concern himself with other people's dispositions. However, he knew full well that Kaminari was not easily rundown. Whatever was on her mind must have been seriously affecting her emotional well-being.

After spending some time in silence, Kazumitsu asked her "Everything alright?"

Kaminari slowly tilted her head upwards and looked at her large friend. They maintained eye contact for almost thirty seconds before Kazumitsu broke it again. This time, he said "I may not be emphatic like Yuuga, but I can tell well enough on my own that something's on your mind, Kaminari. Would you care to discuss it?"

Kaminari sighed reluctantly and rested her head on her hands. She finally replied with "I'd be lying if I told you I'm fine, but I don't think you'd understand."

Kazumitsu shrugged and took another bite of bread. After he chewed it and swallowed it down, he told her "Maybe I will understand and maybe I won't. Only way to make certain is if you tell me."

"That is true," Kaminari agreed. She looked off to the side and stared at the wall for a few moments. Finally, she began vaguely with "It has to do with… some business."

"What sort of business?" queried Kazumitsu.

"Two types actually," she responded, "Some personal business, and the business involving our work here."

"On the subject of that, did you tell Osamu and Reika about our progress?" Kazumitsu queried.

"No, I didn't speak a word to either of them," Kaminari answered with the slightest bit of anger detectable in her voice.

"Really?" remarked Kazumitsu, a little stunned, "You were in the backrooms for quite a while; I would have assumed you spoke with them."

"That's where the personal business comes in," Kaminari stated bitterly, "Do you know **why **I didn't talk with them, Kazumitsu?"

"Why?" he asked, becoming more interested in what Kaminari had to say. He took another bite of his bread just before he got his response.

"I didn't talk to Osamu or Reika… because they both had their lips full at the time," she told him bluntly.

Kazumitsu almost choked on his bread when he heard this. He sucked it in and began coughing violently. Almost immediately, Kaminari jumped out of her chair and firmly slapped him on the back a couple times. A moment later, Kazumitsu spat out the piece of bread that had been lodged in the back of his mouth.

As he breathed in deeply to regain his breath, he turned to Kaminari and told her "Thanks… thanks for that."

"Of course," she remarked, smiling cheekily, "Couldn't just let you gag to death, could I? After all, imagine what the Program's audience would think of that."

Kazumitsu began laughing heartily at those words. He commented "Yeah, that would be pretty pathetic. I could just see the highlight reel now: an unspecified number of deaths by gunshots, an unknown amount of deaths by knife wounds, and one death by choking!"

He resumed laughing after he said this, and Kaminari joined in a few seconds after he began. When they finished laughing, Kazumitsu took a deep breath and said "Wow, amazing how fast things can happen. I don't even remember what we were talking about a moment ago."

"Actually, I don't remember it either…" Kaminari began. But in midsentence, the previous topic of their conversation came back to her. Almost immediately, Kaminari reverted to her first mood. She scowled angrily and made her way over to her chair. Then she remarked "Now I remember. I was just telling you about how I saw Osamu and Reika snogging each other in the back."

"You sure they were doing that?" Kazumitsu asked. He was now certain he had not misheard Kaminari, but he wanted to make certain she was sure of herself. After all, the concept of Osamu Sano kissing Reika Fujihara was almost unimaginable to him.

If there was one person Kazumitsu could label as "characteristically impassive," Osamu would be that person. Whenever the gang was out committing a crime, Osamu was all business and he rarely showed any emotion, with the occasional exception of pride in his team.

What stunned Kazumitsu even more was that Reika was the one Osamu had kissed. While Kazumitsu (and almost every other male student in Class 3-A) thought of Reika as one of the most beautiful girls he had ever seen, she was also a very private person. Kazumitsu had never known her to open up to anyone. He never expected her to show romantic feelings for anyone, least of all the gang's emotionless boss.

"I'm quite certain of myself," Kaminari replied, "And I suppose I don't have to tell you they were enjoying themselves."

Kazumitsu was now just as shocked as Kaminari. A disgusted expression came across his face and he remarked heatedly "You mean to tell me that while you and I have been out here doing all the work… they've been in the back, getting cozy with each other?"

"That's it exactly," Kaminari confirmed in an equally displeased manner. She looked off to the side once more and sighed again. "I just don't understand it. Reika and I are the only girls in this group. Of the two of us, I do much more work and I'm far more focused on my tasks. Normally, that would not bother me. But here, in the Program, we're supposed to be taking everything seriously. Our own **lives **are on the line. Yet Osamu and Reika are making out in the back room."

"Why would they do that in the first place?" asked Kazumitsu, "I don't recall the two of them ever having a moment together before today."

"That is true," Kaminari concurred, "However, before Gakuto and Toshirou left to gather supplies, Reika and I talked with each other. She told me that when she found Osamu earlier… he kissed her."

Kazumitsu raised an eyebrow in interest. He leaned forward a little and said "Did she say if the kiss was out of impulse or out of affection?"

"Most likely the former," Kaminari replied. She turned back to her friend and told him "But I'm pretty sure what I saw between the two of them was not out of impulse. Nor was it out of affection. It was lust. Nothing but lust."

Kazumitsu leaned forward a little further and remarked "Kaminari… you're not… jealous, are you?"

When she saw the expression on Kaminari's face, he half-expected her to slap him again, this time on his own face. Knowing how feisty she was, that was her typical reaction. However, just when Kazumitsu thought he was going to have a red mark on his cheek, Kaminari eased down considerably and became more sullen. She then stated "As much as I would like to deny that… I suppose I am. I mean, Reika is always getting every guy's attention, but no one ever pays attention to me."

"But you always claim you don't care about that stuff," Kazumitsu pointed out.

"And most of the time, that's true," Kaminari confirmed, "But secretly, there are times when I want – and even crave – that kind of attention. It's so easy for Reika; she just has to flash a smile and she's got guys fawning over her. And I… well, look at me!"

Kazumitsu was surprised that Kaminari was speaking with such little self-esteem. Obviously what she witnessed between Osamu and Reika must have affected her opinion of herself.

"You think of yourself as ugly?" he remarked, "That's nonsense talk. Reika may be – and I stress 'may be' – a little more pleasant to look at, but you could easily get someone to notice you as well as she can. Besides, let's face it; Reika's beauty and wits are pretty much her only advantages. She only has two; you have many more than that."

Kaminari lightly shrugged and said "I suppose you're right, Kazumitsu. Thanks for saying that."

"Well, it's true," he pointed out, "Why don't you focus on those instead?"

"I would, but what would be the point?" she replied, "After all, it's not like Osamu or the others ever want my help with anything outside of negotiations. That's what really upsets me about this whole thing; Reika can get noticed much easier than I can."

Kazumitsu did not reply to this. He sat thinking about what Kaminari just said. He realized that she was in fact correct. But in a way, what she said he could apply to himself as well.

"You know what?" he thought aloud, "I think you pretty much summarized what is wrong with this group."

"What would that be?" she inquired.

"You and me," he responded. After seeing the surprised expression on Kaminari's face, he quickly clarified what he meant: "I mean, the roles you and I play. Have you ever noticed that whenever the group conducts any sort of activity, you and I are often overlooked?"

"Overlooked how?" she asked.

"Normally, Osamu only lets you take part in negotiations," he told her, "And most of the time, I'm just there to intimidate our rivals. When was the last time Osamu entrusted either of us a serious assignment? He gives those to Gakuto, Toshirou, and even Reika all the time, but how often has he shown such trust to you or me? Never, that's how often."

Kaminari sat thinking about what Kazumitsu said. There was a great deal of logic to his words. In fact, he took them right out of her mouth.

"Actually, that's what appalls me the most about this setting," she elucidated, "Toshirou and Gakuto are out gathering equipment and materials for the chemical weapons. Osamu and Reika are in the back getting 'comfortable' with each other. What are you and I left with? Sorting out a bunch of lousy bottles."

"It's always been like that," Kazumitsu pointed out, "You and I are always stuck with the menial tasks. Even when we offer our assistance, they turn it down."

"Hell, they don't even give us the courtesy of turning us down," Kaminari countered, "They just ignore our offers altogether."

"You're right," he concurred, "I could put up with this treatment back home, as long as I got my cut like everyone else. But here? In the Program? In order for this group to function, we have to literally trust each other with our lives. This is how the others trust us: with organizing a fuckin' bar."

Everything Kaminari and Kazumitsu had said was in fact true. The two of them had much to offer, but their friends only wanted their help with certain things. Things that were not very rewarding in terms of pride.

There was a stereotype that the muscleman in a gang was often one of the most dim-witted members of the group, if not **the **most dim-witted. This was a result of the old adage "All brawn and no brain." Kazumitsu had fallen victim to this stereotype, and he knew it. To the contrary, he was actually quite intelligent. He often tried contributing an idea of his own whenever the group needed it. Often, Osamu would merely dismiss it and tell him condescendingly "Maybe you should just leave the thinking up to Gakuto." Kazumitsu would pretend to be amused by these remarks, but he was actually quite irritated by them. The other members of the gang thought of his muscle and towering figure as his only advantages.

As for Kaminari, she had it even worse. At this time, she and Kazumitsu were facing each other directly. Even when they were sitting down, he was still over a foot taller than her. Naturally, she had to look up at him to maintain eye contact. She was used to this; she felt as though she had to metaphorically look up to everyone in the group, but no one ever looked up to her. It made her feel like an inferior. This was the main reason why she was so belligerent; she behaved this way to be more assertive. But all the same, she could not get over her feelings of lowliness.

Kaminari and Kazumitsu were both profoundly misunderstood. Osamu and the others never mistreated either of them, but their friends were always making pessimistic assumptions about them and their capabilities. They were forced to put up with it, otherwise they would definitely be kicked out of the gang. While this may have sounded like no big dilemma, being in the gang actually meant a lot to both Kaminari and Kazumitsu. After all, the rewards they had acquired over the years were high in value. Aside from this, neither of them had many friends outside the group; by leaving it they would risk becoming as lonely as Kazuki Chikuda.

For a long time, the two of them had been harboring feelings of resentment towards Osamu and the others. Back home, they had merely put these thoughts aside. But they saw no need to ignore them in the Program.

As the two of them got further and further into this conversation, their feelings of resentment became stronger.

Resentment is a factor of hatred and envy. Hatred and envy can do terrible things to people. They can incite them to lash out against anyone, even the people they were closest to. Most people choose instead to lash out at the people who cause them to feel resentful in the first place.

At this time, Kaminari and Kazumitsu were feeling extremely, almost unhealthily, resentful. However, in their case, the people responsible for making them feel this way were also the people they were closest to.

This only made things worse. This type of resentment could be described as a sickness of the mind. Any type of sickness – whether physical or mental – leads to a deeply undesirable fate.

The two of them realized near the end of their conversation that the only true ally they had in the Program was each other. Upon coming to this conclusion, they both began getting the same idea.

Kazumitsu leaned back in his chair and looked down at Kaminari. He smirked wickedly and told her "I find it quite interesting that two of us might survive the Program this year. Our group is composed of six members, but you and I only count as two."

Kaminari quickly caught on; an evil grin came across his face and she replied with "A rather convenient fact. And good news for you and me. But not so good news for the others."

Their conversation ended there. But a conspiracy of betrayal began in its place.

…

Location is a very meaningful thing. Most people have an innate desire to know where they are. It gives them a feeling of organization and structure. While such a detail may seem trivial or insignificant to some people, it can actually make quite a difference in one's feelings of accomplishment.

This was one of the main reasons why the Program's location was randomly selected. By having it take place in an anonymous region, the participants would be unable to determine where they were. All they did know was that they were in the Saitama Prefecture, which was all Furutani had told them.

All the same, no one in Class 3-A was certain where in the Saitama Prefecture they were. They could have been right on the border of the Kanagawa Prefecture. Imagine being that close to your hometown without even knowing it.

However, a few of the students had begun speculating on this subject. One of them felt certain she knew which city they were in. At this time, she was crossing over into B-8.

Tamayo Shintani (Girl #10) had travelled more than halfway across the city in just a few hours. Like before, she still was not playing the game and she still had her mind focused on increasing her collection of precious stones. She had a feeling her next prospect would be a grand one.

Most teenagers have at least one idol. Tamayo's was a popstar named Wakana. Her full name was Wakana Higashikuni, but she mostly just went by her given name both in public and on stage, similarly to Madonna in America.

Tamayo listened to Wakana's songs quite often. However, she had a rather limited taste in music. Earlier on, when that song had played over the loudspeakers, she had no idea what it was about. In fact, she was the only member of her class that did not care for it in the slightest; it was not her type.

Wakana's music, on the other hand, brought Tamayo waves of delight. She listened to her songs almost daily, and she had most of them memorized. In her mind, Wakana was the epitome of a modern composer.

In a few ways, Wakana was also something of a role model to Tamayo. She was only in her early twenties, yet she had helped create three different relief funds for the elderly, the disabled, and the destitute. She also had her own motto: "Take a bite out of life, but never bite off more than you can chew."

The message behind this was how she was encouraging her younger fans to seize the day and make their own contributions to the world, but they should never take on too much responsibility at once. Essentially, she meant that while it was important to better the world, one would never benefit by overexerting one's self. Tamayo had taken this to heart.

However, this was not what Tamayo admired the most about Wakana. The thing that primarily interested her was Wakana's taste in jewelry. While she was a generous person, she felt no shame in using diamonds to give herself a richer appearance. Most of her performance costumes had small diamonds sewn into the hems. She wore such outfits to add a little "radiance" to her image. However, all of these diamonds paled in comparison to a certain diamond she had bought about two years earlier.

This was a famous gem she called the "Firebrand." She called it that for two reasons. The first reason was that the diamond was bright red in color, like a hot bright flame. The second reason was because the gem had been through a history of deceit. Every single one of its previous masters had acquired it from the predecessor through disreputable means. Thievery, assault, murder… you name it. Wakana was no exception. She had cheated the previous owner by giving him only a third of what she originally promised to pay him for the Firebrand. The man was desperate for money at the time; Wakana used that to her advantage and haggled with him down to his limits. It was not the worst misdeed she had committed in her lifetime, but it was easily the most dishonest.

Wakana only wore this diamond at her most expensive concerts. The rest of the time, she kept it locked in a safe at her mansion. This was a fact known by her most enthusiastic fans.

Wakana's mansion just happened to be located in the Saitama Prefecture. Tamayo had seen pictures of the mansion in a magazine. Most people build a mansion in a rural environment. Not Wakana; according to the pictures in the magazines, Tamayo was able to determine that her mansion was in a cosmopolitan area. Some of the buildings in the background looked remarkably similar to some of the ones Tamayo had encountered throughout the city.

She began to wonder… could this be the city where Wakana lived? She did live in the Saitama Prefecture. Tamayo had found a mansion on the map earlier; it just may have been her idol's.

Wakana had been on tour for over a month beforehand; she would not have taken the Firebrand with her. That being said, if her mansion **was **in this city, that would mean that the Firebrand was most likely in the city as well.

That was why Tamayo was determined to get to the mansion. If it really was Wakana's, she could try to break in, locate the Firebrand, and claim it as her own. While she did feel a little guilty about stealing from her idol, her love of jewels outweighed her hero worship.

While Tamayo was resolved to carry out her goal, she was now proceeding with more caution. Less than an hour earlier, when she passed through B-4 to B-5, she had heard a series of gunshots somewhere west of her position. They sounded like they came from a long-range weapon. There were eleven of them total. The last one sounded much different from the others.

Tamayo was no expert in sound waves, but she did know enough about them to determine that the first ten gunshots had originated in the air while the last one sounded as though it had been fired from ground level.

She decided to stay away from the western half of the city until further notice. She would only be willing to go back there if a certain amount of time passed without another audible gunshot.

Tamayo still had her monkey wrench in her hands. She had it at the ready, in case she needed to defend herself. She also had Mamoru Niwa's Walther P88 and Yasuko Oomori's can of bear mace in her supply pack. She was more than willing to use them. But even with them in her possession, she stayed alert and on her guard.

Before long, she arrived at the gates of a large, posh foundation. It was too big to be a house and too small to be a commune. However, it was just the right size for a typical mansion.

The moment she saw it, Tamayo recognized it. She had seen its pictures in a magazine several times before. It was three stories tall with part of a fourth floor for the attic. It was over two hundred feet long and one hundred feet wide. It had the appearance of a traditional Japanese establishment mixed with modern day Japanese luxury resort. Its primary colors were simple ones such as tan, brown, and white. However, it still held a certain beauty and dignity about it.

It was Wakana's mansion. Tamayo had found it at last. She smugly grinned in satisfaction and approached the front gates.

She was surprised to find the gates unlocked. Then again, Wakana had not been in town during the evacuation; perhaps she did not feel the need to lock up her property up so tight before she went on tour. So Tamayo quickly dismissed this convenience and stepped into the front lawn.

She slowly made her way across the stone pathway, taking her time so that she could admire the front yard. It was as beautiful as the magazine made it out to be. Everything was so neat and meticulously organized. Tamayo could not help but admire the attention to detail.

However, when she was halfway to the front door, she noticed something. There were black marks in the grass close to the path. Tamayo stopped walking to study them. She kneeled down to the ground to get a closer look. That was when she realized they were footprints.

At first, Tamayo theorized that the marks had been made long ago when Wakana and her bodyguards were last staying at the mansion. Upon further inspection, Tamayo discovered she was sorely mistaken. The grass was still wet, meaning that the footprints were fresh. Someone had crossed through this lawn recently. They must have been in a hurry to have skipped the path altogether.

Tamayo could tell that the footprints were too petite and shallow to have been made by any boots. That being said, none of the soldiers could have left them. These had to have been left by someone with smaller feet and lighter shoes must have made these tracks.

It then occurred to Tamayo that perhaps she was not the only member of her class that had come to the mansion. She looked all over the lawn anxiously, but eased down slightly when she saw no one was there. He decided to put the thought aside for the present. She had not come all this way across town to be turned away by some patches of flattened grass.

Tamayo resumed walking and before long, she reached the double doors at the front. She tried jiggling the doorknobs a few times, but they were bolted up tightly. Even if she managed to twist the knobs off with her monkey wrench, the door would still not open.

The way she saw it, the only surefire way to get inside the mansion would be to smash the front door down. The door had a traditional framework made up of pine and oak. The wood had been thoroughly sanded beforehand. It could be split apart with the right amount of force. She thought about this concept, and then she looked down at the monkey wrench in her hands. She quickly began forming an idea in her head. Then a devious grin came across her face.

"This isn't going to be pretty," she muttered as she lifted her wrench into the air, "But a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do."

She gripped her wrench in both hands and raised it over her head. Then she swung it forward, delivering a fierce blow onto the center of the door.

Tamayo was strong for a person of her build, but one swing of the wrench only just barely left a dent in the door. It would take many more blows to break it down.

Tamayo raised her wrench and swung it forward over and over again. After about a dozen blows, the top part of the door began loosening. It was a start.

As she continued beating the door, she muttered "This seems a lot like that one scene in that American movie I saw a while ago. What was its name? Oh yes, _The Shining_."

There were a couple differences. One was that Jack Nicholson used an axe to break down a door in that movie and Tamayo was using a monkey wrench. Their motivations were another difference. Nicholson's character was turning insane and trying to get to his wife and son in effort to kill them. Tamayo had no interest in killing her classmates; all she wanted was the Firebrand.

After another ten blows, the top section of the door split apart from the lower parts. The door was a third of the way down.

Tamayo began focusing her attention on the lowest part of the door. She began whacking it even more fiercely than the top section. After a score of blows, the bottom part of the door broke off. Now only the middle part was left; it was hanging by the bolt on one end and the hinge on the other end.

Tamayo lifted her wrench and struck the center part of the door. Bits of wood were chipped off with every blow. After about nine blows, the wood started splitting apart. Once it was split halfway, Tamayo lowered her wrench. She took a step back and raised her left leg. With one thrust of her foot, she kicked the middle part of the door down. Now she had full access to the mansion.

As she stepped inside, Tamayo snickered and said to herself "Never thought I'd be breaking into Wakana's house. Just my luck she was on tour long before this place was chosen as the Program's location."

She chuckled to herself for a moment as she held her wrench on her shoulder. However, as she entered the massive front room, her smirk faded away. Something else caught her attention.

A window had been broken on the opposite end of the room. Dozens of shards of broken glass littered the area around it. Tamayo decided to investigate it.

As she approached the broken window, she noticed that one of the broken shards at the base had a hint of red on it. She picked it up and examined it closely. It quickly dawned on her that the red spot was blood. That could only mean that someone had broken the window and injured himself or herself upon entering. The blood was not yet dry; this had to have been done within the past few hours.

Tamayo dropped the shard of glass and turned around, gazing all over the area frantically. She gripped her wrench in both hands. She was inclined to shout something like "Who's there?" but decided against it.

Tamayo then remembered; she had Mamoru's Walther P88. She opened her supply pack and hastily pulled out the handgun. She pulled back the hammer to make certain the chamber was loaded.

"If anyone's here, I'll find them," she muttered as she zipped up her supply pack, "But I'm not leaving until I get what I came here for."

Thus, with her monkey wrench in one hand and the Walther P88 in the other, Tamayo began searching the mansion. A wiser person would have left it by now, but Tamayo was determined to find the Firebrand.

…

Gakuto Yamashita (Boy #21) and Toshirou Oosaki (Boy #5) had made a lot of progress in the past couple hours. Shortly after their encounter with Teru Machida in C-7, they had made their way to the hardware store in J-5 near the southern border in the city. From there, they gathered together a pressure cooker, some pots with lids, some hot plates, some skillets, and several other pieces of equipment.

After they had gathered all of these objects together, Gakuto took his list out and looked it over. He was able to check off every item on the list except for the one at the very top.

"Everything accounted for?" inquired Toshirou.

"Almost," Gakuto responded as he folded the list up and put it into his jacket pocket, "We've got everything we need except for the soap. We're going to need loads of it."

"Where we gonna find that much soap?" stated Toshirou.

"Well, we could try searching through every apartment in the city," Gakuto suggested, "I'm certain there would be some soap in all of them. But that would definitely take up too much time. What's a single place where we can get crates of soap?"

"I'll take a look at the map," Toshirou told him as he opened up his supply pack and fished out his map, "Maybe there's a hygienist store somewhere in the city."

As he looked over the map, Gakuto went to work loading the equipment into the car. Earlier, when they stopped at the bar and the chemical storage building, they had parked the car at least two blocks away. However, because they were near the southern border of the city, they had deemed it safe to park right outside the hardware store this time.

When Gakuto was about halfway finished with loading the car, Toshirou announced "I just remembered there's a supermarket in H-6. Kaminari and I rendezvoused there shortly after the game began. We headed north from there and made our way to D-7."

"How much of the supermarket did you see?" queried Gakuto.

"Not much, just the front section," Toshirou replied, "But the place appeared to be well-stocked. Evidently the town's inhabitants were not too concerned about last-minute shopping during the evacuation."

"In that case, let's head there," Gakuto decided, "It's bound to have plenty of soap."

"Sounds good to me," Toshirou agreed. He slid his map back into his supply pack and zipped it up. Then he helped Gakuto with loading up the car. Once everything was in the car, the two of them got into the driver's seat and passenger seat respectively. Toshirou went to work hotwiring the steering wheel once more. Once it was in gear, he and Gakuto were off.

Gakuto took out his map to keep track of their movements. He studied it as Toshirou drove.

The two of them had been all over the city in the past few hours. They had stopped the car a total of four times. The hardware store had been the most recent stop.

The other three stops had taken place over an hour earlier. The first was when they gathered supplies from the chemical storage. The second was when they encountered Teru. The third was when they heard the loudspeaker network come online.

Toshirou and Gakuto were the only two students who could explain the unscheduled announcement. When they heard the music play, it increased their optimism significantly. They knew full well that Teru was behind this music, as he had told them this was part of his plan.

They stopped the car to listen to the song all twelve times it played. After the seventh time, they actually tried singing along, even though their English was limited.

That had been almost a half-hour ago, but it felt much longer than that. Gakuto and Toshirou were still humming it as they worked. They were not certain what the words really meant, but for whatever reason, they were convinced it had something to do with a matter of honor and pride.

As they drove, Toshirou turned to Gakuto and remarked "You really think he can do it?"

"Who?" asked Gakuto, looking up from his map.

"Teru," Toshirou clarified, "You really think he can accomplish all the stuff he has planned?"

"If I know Teru – and I hope I do – he will certainly try," Gakuto told his friend, "He's always struck me as the persistent type. Once he's set his mind on something, he'll go through with it and he won't stop until he's satisfied with his work. Take a left up here."

Toshirou applied gentle pressure to the brakes to slow the car down. Then he turned left onto the next road. As he did this, he commented "I'm certain he's committed and that he has the necessary skills to pull it off. I just hope everything goes smoothly for him."

"You and me both," Gakuto agreed, "Any one of a number of things can go wrong, most of them in the form of a person playing the game."

"You still think it was a good idea to leave him all on his own?" queried Toshirou, "I mean, all he's got to defend himself with is that harpoon rifle."

"I think he can manage," Gakuto stated hopefully, "After all, he said he would be operating very close to the school. I have a feeling most people would want to **avoid **getting near the school at all cost."

"That is true," Toshirou concurred, "Guess he's in control of his own fate. In the meantime, we're responsible for our own, as well as that of our friends'."

Neither Toshirou nor Gakuto had directly mentioned Gakuto's plan to sabotage the Program. This was intentional. Toshirou needed both of his hands to steer the car, which would leave the microphone in his necklace uncovered. Because of this, they had to speak vaguely about Teru's plan to avoid tipping off Furutani.

The two of them continued on in silence until they were a block from the supermarket. Then they stopped the car for the fifth time that morning. After making certain the ignition was off, they took their supply packs and backpacks and stepped out of the vehicle. Then they locked the car up and headed off towards the supermarket.

As they walked, Toshirou told Gakuto "We must be four miles south and one mile west of the bar. I think we should start going north as soon as we get back to the car. If I remember correctly, H-7 is just to the east, and it went danger zone at seven o'clock this morning."

"That's correct," Gakuto confirmed, "I-4 went danger zone shortly before we met Teru. In about fifteen minutes, E-2 will go danger zone, as well."

"Then we'll have another hour until the noon announcement," Toshirou pointed out, "I wonder which areas will become forbidden next."

"We'll find out," was all Gakuto said.

Soon, the two of them reached the supermarket. Toshirou stated "Looks about the same as this morning. Except of course it was dark then."

"Right," Gakuto remarked, "But I'm not as concerned as the market's exterior as I am the interior. Let's go get that soap."

The two of them approached the front entrance of the supermarket and the automatic doors opened up for them. They looked around as they stepped inside. The place appeared to be deserted, which was exactly what they hoped for.

"Which way do you think is the hair & body section?" queried Toshirou.

"I'm not certain," answered Gakuto, "Nor do I care."

"What do you mean you don't care?" remarked Toshirou, "All the soap is in the hair & body section."

"You mean the soap on display is there," Gakuto corrected him, "All the soap in the store itself wouldn't be enough to make even a quart of nitroglycerin. We should be more concerned on finding an entrance to the storerooms. I'm certain we'll find boxes of soap there."

"Oh, right," Toshirou agreed, "Makes much more sense to go for that stuff first."

The two of them decided to go to the right side of the market first. Gakuto led the way as they walked. They soon arrived near the produce section. They passed through the different stands, which displayed various fruits, vegetables, herbs, and nuts.

At one point, Gakuto heard Toshirou say cockily from behind, "Hey, Gakuto, look at this!"

Gakuto turned around and saw that Toshirou had picked up a handful of peanuts from a basket in the nut stand. He was holding them out to Gakuto, as if offering them to him. Toshirou had a spirited grin on his face as he remarked cheekily "Get your nice, salty, dry-roasted peanuts right here!"

Gakuto just rolled his eyes and stated in a very sarcastic voice "Ha, ha, ha, Toshirou. Put those damn things away before I have a reaction."

Toshirou chuckled and tossed the peanuts over his shoulder, not bothering to simply put them back down in their basket. He then commented "Sorry, couldn't help myself. Just trying to have a little fun."

Gakuto smirked and responded with "Suppose I can't blame you for that. But try waiting until a more appropriate time for that. And **please**, nothing that could compromise my health."

"Got it, no peanuts," Toshirou agreed.

Peanuts are very popular in America. Unfortunately, one in every thirty Americans is allergic to them. Whereas in Japan, peanuts are not as available; they are only sold in certain towns. Naturally, it would make sense that the ratio of people who are allergic to peanuts in Japan is far lower than the American ratio. However, there are still some Japanese people who cannot safely ingest peanuts. Gakuto was one of them.

There are different degrees to which someone can be allergic to peanuts. Most of these people are merely unable to consume them or anything containing them. However, there are some people who cannot even eat foods that were prepared in the same room as peanuts. Gakuto's case was about halfway between these two. While he could not eat anything containing peanuts, he could still eat foods that were prepared in the same room as them. He could even approach peanuts to a safe distance. But the closer he got to them, the more likely it would be for him to have a reaction.

Gakuto's allergies were common knowledge amongst the students of Class 3-A. After all, he was the only person in all of Keio Shonan-Fujisawa Junior High School that had peanut allergies. Whenever you have something that distinguishes you from everyone else, that something is hard to keep secret.

"You can goof around later when I'm brewing up the glycerin," Gakuto told Toshirou, "Let's stay focused for now."

Toshirou nodded and gripped the strap on his supply pack, saying "You got it."

Now that Toshirou was focused again, Gakuto turned back around and spotted a rectangular patch of black on the opposite wall. He looked a little more closely and saw that they were double doors. They must have been the primary entrance to the storeroom.

"Come on, let's go," he announced.

The two of them began walking over to the double doors. But before they could reach the doors, they heard a sharp *CRUNCH* from behind.

The two of them whipped around and gazed towards the source of the noise. To their vast surprise, they saw Kotoyo Fukumoto (Girl #18) across the room. She looked as if she had been walking but was frozen in her tracks. It almost appeared as though she was sneaking up on them.

The thing that gave her away was a peanut. The handful of peanuts that Toshirou had tossed over his shoulder had scattered all over the floor. Kotoyo had inadvertently stepped on one of them, hence the loud "crunch" sound. In a way, Toshirou's practical joke ended up serving some useful purpose!

Gakuto and Toshirou also noticed Kotoyo was holding a revolver in her right hand. That was what got a response out of Gakuto. He pulled his IOF .32 Revolver out of his belt and pulled back the hammer. He did not point it at Kotoyo, but he did hold it so she could see it.

Once he was certain he had her attention, he took a few steps forward and demanded "Kotoyo, what are you doing?"

"Gakuto, I… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," she replied hastily. She was visibly shocked.

"I'd like to believe that," Gakuto calmly remarked, "What were you doing?"

"It's just… well, you see…" Kotoyo tentatively began, "I thought… just maybe… Hitoshi was with you."

"Hitoshi?" queried Toshirou, "Why him?"

"Because he saved my life this morning, Toshirou," Kotoyo explained, "Twice, actually. Once from myself and the other from… Genji."

Both Toshirou and Gakuto turned pale in the face when she said that. Gakuto managed to get out "What… what do you mean by that?"

Kotoyo then explained what had happened at the river in I-5 earlier that morning. She told them about her attempt at suicide, how Hitoshi had convinced her to stay alive, how Genji had interrupted their moment, and how Hitoshi had asked her to run while he fended Genji off.

When she was done, both Gakuto and Toshirou were breathless.

"Genji is actually playing?" stated Toshirou, almost unable to grasp this concept.

Kotoyo glumly nodded her head and said "He claimed to have already killed Misaki and Chieko earlier today."

"Things just got a hell of a lot more complicated," Gakuto thought aloud, "I never would have thought Genji would play this game to win. He's never seemed like that kind of person."

"Facing him was like facing a complete stranger," Kotoyo recounted, "Aside from his appearance and voice, there was nothing about him even remotely reminiscent of the Class President we all know."

"Well, at least now we know to avoid him," Toshirou reasoned out. He turned to Kotoyo and stated "I'd still like to know something, Kotoyo. What are you doing here?"

"I told Hitoshi I would wait for him here," Kotoyo answered him.

"Why here?" inquired Gakuto.

"No real reason," she replied, "Except that it was the closest major foundation in the city to the place where Hitoshi and I encountered Genji."

"How long have you been here?" asked Toshirou.

"Over two hours," she replied, "You guys are the only ones that have come around here in all that time. On that subject, why are you here anyway?"

"We're doing some soap-hunting,"Toshirou replied humorously.

Kotoyo gave a hearty chuckle in response to his remark. When she was done laughing, she said "What does that mean?"

"He means we're here to get some soap," Gakuto elucidated, "Lots and lots of soap."

Kotoyo could tell they were being serious. "What do you need the soap for?"

"A little chemistry project," Gakuto enlightened her, "We want to expand our arsenal, just in case we have to resort to extreme measures to defend ourselves. We're going to start by make some nitroglycerin."

"Oh, you mean like in _Fight Club_?" Kotoyo assumed.

Gakuto snickered and commented "Glad to see you know why I'm talking about. Toshirou needed the whole explanation when I first brought it up."

"I'm standing right here, you know," Toshirou remarked in annoyance.

Gakuto ignored him and told Kotoyo "We need as much soap as we can carry. We were just off to the storeroom to look for some."

"Maybe I can help you," Kotoyo offered, "When I first got here, I went to the storeroom to look for a place to hide. I could have sworn I came across some crates that smelt like body wash or shampoo. But there's a good chance they were actually boxes of soap!"

"In that case, lead the way," Gakuto requested, gesturing towards the double doors on the other side of the produce section.

"Alright, if you insist," stated Kotoyo. She tucked her revolver into the waistband of her skirt as Gakuto tucked his own revolver into his belt. Then she led the two of them off to the storeroom.

They spent awhile looking through the vicinity, but they eventually found the crates Kotoyo mentioned. Toshirou managed to use his metal skewers to pry off the lid on one of the crates. Sure enough, inside there was soap. Dozens upon dozens of bars of soap.

Gakuto picked up one of the bars and took a whiff of it. Then he unwrapped it out of its package and examined it closely. He broke it in half and examined the soap's interior. Once he was finished, a wide smile came across his face.

"Jackpot," he commented as he put the soap back in the crate. Once he did, Toshirou put the lid back in place. "This is exactly what we need. Good find, Kotoyo."

"Happy to be of assistance," she replied.

"How much of this do you think we'll need?" Toshirou asked his friend.

"Well, there's not much room left in the car," Gakuto thought aloud as he rubbed his chin, "But if we can find enough space… I'd say four crates ought to do it."

"Okay, I'll go see if I can find a trolley," Toshirou turned and went to search the storeroom. Kotoyo and Gakuto stood waiting for him.

"This actually would make a fine hiding place," Gakuto remarked as he looked around the storeroom. He turned to Kotoyo and asked "Why didn't you stay here?"

"Mostly because it was too stuffy and dry," Kotoyo explained, "And aside from that, I couldn't hear a thing going on in the store itself. So I decided to hide out there instead, in case Hitoshi finally showed up."

"If he hasn't come along yet, he might actually be wounded or… dead," Gakuto theorized.

Kotoyo sighed in reluctance and said "That did occur to me. But I'm not leaving this place for a while. At least not until the noon announcements. If Hitoshi is gone, I'll know then. If he isn't, I'm staying right here."

"And if he is gone?" queried Gakuto.

Kotoyo did not reply immediately. She just looked off to the side and waited for saying "I don't know. I'll just have to wait and see. I'm holding out hope he'll be alright."

"You sure you wouldn't mind being all by yourself?" Gakuto stated in mild concern.

"Quite sure," Kotoyo replied. She gestured to her revolver and said "I've still got this."

"So that's your weapon?" Gakuto assumed.

"No, it was Hitoshi's," she answered, "He gave me his supply pack shortly before he told me to run. My weapon was a whip. Hitoshi took it right out of my hand and used it to fend off Genji. As far as I know, he still has it."

"I hope he knew what he was doing," Gakuto commented, "I mean, Hitoshi resorting to violence? I would have never thought that possible."

"The Program does bring out the worst in people," Kotoyo pointed out, "It almost makes you wonder if anyone can be trusted."

Gakuto nodded his head and slid his hands into his jacket pockets. He leaned against the wall and said "As of now, there are six people I feel I can trust. At least for the moment. Five of them are the members of my group."

"Who's the sixth?" asked Kotoyo.

"Teru, if you can believe it," he responded, "Toshirou and I ran into him outside the carpentry shop in C-7. He has this nifty little plan to sabotage the Program."

"Really?" said Kotoyo, "How?"

"I can't tell you that just yet," Gakuto remarked, "First, do this."

With that, he took his thumb, his index finger, and his middle finger from his right hand and placed them over a certain spot on his necklace. Kotoyo did the same thing with her own necklace. Before she could ask, he went ahead and explained what he knew about the microphones in the necklaces. After this, Gakuto told Kotoyo what he knew about Teru's plans.

Near the end of his explanation, he told her "You might be interested to know that Teru was responsible for that little 'malfunction' with the loudspeakers."

"I had a feeling that song wasn't Furutani's doing," Kotoyo remarked, "I would recognize that piece anywhere. It's from Boublil and Schönberg's _Les Miserables_."

"I've never seen the musical, but I'll take your word for it," stated Gakuto, "After all, out of all forty-five of us, you're the only one I could see with a future in an orchestra."

"Thanks, that means a lot to me," Kotoyo told him, "I just hope that 'future' is not just a speculation."

"It won't be if Teru's plan works," Gakuto pointed out, "He told us he was working from the roof of a building near the northern border of D-5, just a hundred feet shy of the school. However, we're not certain which building; he never said."

"I think I might know which building it was," Kotoyo recalled, "You see, I left the school right before Teru did. As soon as I was outside, I headed to the end of the block and travelled south. Then I stopped to check my supply pack. A couple minutes later, I saw Teru coming my way. I panicked for a moment and ran, thinking he was after me. However, he ended up turning into the next block and he stopped just outside of the police station."

"The police station?" said Gakuto, "You think that's where he might be?"

"Well, we would certainly get a fine view of the school from there," Kotoyo reasoned out, "So, yes. I'd say he's there right now. And if he is, let's hope his plan is rapidly progressing."

"Yes, let's," Gakuto agreed.

A moment later, Toshirou came back. He was rolling a trolley towards his two classmates. Once he reached them, he and Gakuto went to work loading four crates onto the cart.

"There we go," Toshirou commented, "Let's get this stuff back to the car."

"In a moment," stated Gakuto. He turned to Kotoyo and asked her "You're **certain** you'll be alright here?"

She nodded her head and replied with "Yes, I can manage. But I wish you and your group luck with the nitroglycerin."

"Thanks," he told her, "Stay safe and just hold in there. When Teru gives the signal, then and only then will we all move in."

Kotoyo pulled her revolver back out and smirked. Then she said "I'll be ready for it."

"Great," stated Gakuto, "We'll need everyone we can get."

Kotoyo walked with Gakuto and Toshirou as far as the supermarket's front entrance. But she stopped when the double doors opened up again. The two boys left; she stayed inside. She was alone once again. But she was hopeful that would not stay the same for long. She hoped Hitoshi was on his way; she was starting to become very worried for him.

…

Tamayo Shintani was a little perplexed. Wakana's mansion was so big to her. Any one of a number of rooms might have had the Firebrand in it. She looked inside cabinets, underneath counters, behind paintings, and even over bookcases. But everywhere she looked, she could not find anything even resembling a safe.

She sighed and told herself to be patient. There were only so many rooms, even in a mansion. One of them was bound to have what she was looking for.

However, at certain points, she was beginning to wonder if the Firebrand was really what she should have let be the first thing on her mind. After all, the front gate had been unlocked, there were footprints on the outside lawn, and a window had been broken in the front room. All that together strongly suggested that someone else was in the mansion.

So far, she had not encountered any more signs of an intrusion, much to her relief. But she had only searched through most of the first floor. She still had two floors to go.

She still held the Walter P88 in one hand and her monkey wrench in the other. Every few seconds, she looked over her shoulder and pointed the gun in a different direction. She was hearing things in her mind, but she was almost certain someone else was making these noises. Her anxiety was beginning to turn into paranoia.

Several times, Tamayo seriously considered just packing up and leaving. But every time, her greed got the better of her. She had often dreamed about adding the Firebrand to her collection of jewels. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and she could not bring herself to pass it up so quickly. So she continued on.

Tamayo made her way to the foyer once more and walked over to the staircase. She slowly began making her ascent to the second floor. She took the stairs one at a time, trying to be as quiet as possible. It took her almost three whole minutes to climb up all twenty steps.

The second floor separated into two directions at the top of the staircase. When Tamayo reached the top step, she looked to her left and then to her right. The walkway led to a massive archway on both sides.

Ultimately, Tamayo decided to go left first. She pointed the gun down towards the left hallway and raised her wrench in the air. Then she began walking towards the archway.

The front room was at least partially brightened by the daylight peering through the windows. The hallway, on the other hand, was immersed in darkness. Tamayo had no idea where she was going. The only lights she could see were the dim flashes that came from the bases of the doors in the hallway. That was nowhere near enough to see clearly.

Tamayo had never been afraid of the dark or being jumped, but she a fear of being jumped in the dark. She never walked home after school by herself. She always waited for her father to pick her up instead.

What got her through the hallway was thinking of her father. He was the most important person in her life. He had done so much for her; she felt she could do the same by winning the Program on her own.

She was not certain how much prize money the traditional winner of the Program received, but she knew it was enough to set that person for life. She did not care about money all that much; to her, jewels were the only objects with any worth or value to them. However, her father could use the prize money to retire early. The two of them would never have to work again.

Tamayo also considered the possibility that she and Blaine might end up being the last two standing. If that was the case and she somehow managed to kill him, she would win **double **the normal amount of prize money. With that much money... she should could only imagine how easy life would be then.

The thought of this type of future made Tamayo very happy. She wanted to come through for her father. She loved him very much, and she swore that the very first thing she would do when she got back home would be to embrace him, kiss him on the cheek, and tell him that she loved him.

Tamayo was so distracted with this idea that she did not notice that one of the doors in the hallway was slightly ajar. She walked right past it without paying it the slightest bit attention. The moment after she walked by it, the door swung open and a figure jumped out.

Tamayo screamed as she was attacked from behind. She turned around and landed flat on her back; the figure landed on top of her. She struggled to get out from underneath the figure, but it pinned her down on the ground.

Like all the girls in Class 3-A, Tamayo had taken self-defense lessons. Her arms were temporarily immobile, but her legs were still free. She tried kneeing her attacker in the chest.

However, the attacker moved out of the way just in time. Tamayo was shocked by this person's reaction time. The only people who could have seen that blow coming were others that had taken self-defense lessons.

That was when Tamayo realized her attacker was wearing a sailor suit. She was being attacked by a female classmate!

It was still too dark for her to make out the attacker's face. But she was a little glad of this. Had she been able to see the crazed expression on the assailant's face, her breath would have come to a standstill.

Tamayo's attacker sat on her legs and held her arms down. Then she cackled and said "Nice try, Tamayo."

The jewel collector was stunned to hear this. She muttered angrily "How'd you know it's me?"

"I saw you come through the front gate," the assailant responded, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm just… doing a little treasure hunting," Tamayo responded nervously. Right now, she was not certain whether her attacker had plans to harm her or not. While she was almost in shock, she decided to try to appear as though she was still calm.

"Hunting for what? Heads?" the other girl snapped back.

"No, something more valuable," Tamayo answered, "Don't you know whose house this is?"

"I frankly don't give a rat's ass whose house this is," her attacker replied, "For the moment, it's my fortress. I'm defending my fortress from any hostile invaders, including you."

"What makes you so certain I have hostile intentions?" Tamayo remarked angrily.

"You broke the front door down!" shouted the other girl, "How much more hostile can one get than that!"

Tamayo's attacker was speaking rather dramatic. In fact, there was only one girl in Class 3-A that spoke with this much zeal. This girl was Riyeko Imamura (Girl #3)

"Riyeko, is that you?" she asked quietly.

"Surprise, surprise," was the attacker's response.

That was all Tamayo needed to hear. It WAS Riyeko.

"You made a big mistake in coming here, Tamayo" Riyeko remarked heatedly, "I should kill you for trespassing like this. However, I'm feeling nice this morning, so I'll give you a choice. If you leave this place now, I'll let you live. But if I find you around here again, your name will be mentioned in the next announcement."

Tamayo had no idea whatsoever how to respond to this. She was expecting to be killed immediately after she had been jumped. But Riyeko was actually giving her a chance to leave with her life. However, she still had not found the Firebrand. She had spent most of the past thirty minutes searching for it, plus several hours walking across the city to reach this mansion. She was not willing to let all that time and energy go to waste. However, she thought maybe… just maybe, she could reason with Riyeko. She felt she had to at least try.

Tamayo looked up at the other girl and told her "Okay, Riyeko, I'll go. But first… I need to ask a favor."

"What?" Riyeko sharply retorted.

"You do know this mansion… your 'fortress'… actually belongs to Wakana, right?" Tamayo calmly stated.

"Like I said before, I couldn't care less who it belongs to" Riyeko cheekily remarked, "But I'll take your word for it; this house belongs to your 'heroine.' What's your point?"

"Wakana possesses something known as the Firebrand Diamond," Tamayo explained carefully, "That's why I'm here. All I want is the diamond. I just want to find it and then I'll leave. I promise you this."

"A diamond?" said Riyeko. She began to snicker in heavy amusement, "That's what this is about? You're just here for a stupid **diamond**?"

"Pretty much, yes," Tamayo replied, staying calm.

"Forget it, Tamayo," was the other girl's response, "I find it hard to believe that anyone could have a priority as ludicrous as **that **in the Program. Leave this place now, or you'll end up being carried out!"

"Riyeko, please," Tamayo begged, "I came halfway across the city for it!"

"Oh, you poor, unfortunate girl," Riyeko sarcastically stated, "If I had a fuck to spare, I'd give it to you. Now let me make this clear, Tamayo: If you're not out of my fortress within the next sixty seconds, you're out of the game."

Tamayo tightened her fists in anger when she got this response. That was when she finally remembered that she was armed. While her arms were pinned down by Riyeko, she could still move her hands.

Up until this point, Tamayo had been certain she would not play the game. But now, Riyeko left her with little choice. She moved her right hand so that her gun was pointed directly at Riyeko's stomach. Then she grinned up at her wickedly and said "How about… no?"

"What do you mean by 'no?'" stated Riyeko.

"I mean… you're toast, bitch," Tamayo audaciously responded.

Then she pulled the trigger. A gunshot resonated throughout the halls of the mansion. Riyeko's eyes went wide as a huge hole appeared in her blouse. The force of the bullet was so powerful that it threw her body back a few meters. She landed near the archway and remained absolutely still.

Tamayo quickly stood up and looked across the dark corridor. Riyeko's body was just barely in the light of the main room. Tamayo could see her face was outlined in shock. She was not moving a single muscle, nor did she appear to be breathing.

Tamayo smirked and said under her breath "You had it coming."

Thus, the jewel hunter finally entered the game.

Tamayo turned her attention to the now open door in the hallway. She noticed there was a king-sized bed, a desk, a nightstand, and several other pieces of expensive furniture in the room. She decided to investigate.

Tamayo saw that the room was adorned with several posters, most of them made within the past couple years. Then it dawned on her: she was standing in Wakana's room!

What thrilled her the most was what she saw sitting on a counter. It was a small black safe with a traditional combination lock.

Tamayo smiled and said to herself "This must be it."

There was a small chest at the foot of the king-sized bed. Tamayo placed her monkey wrench down on it and tucked her gun into the waistband of her skirt. Then she approached the safe and leaned down to its level. She placed her ear against the safe and began turning the dial.

Tamayo had very good hearing, especially when she focused it on something at close range. She had never cracked a safe before in her life, but she was determined to get what she wanted.

One might wonder why she did not simply use the wrench to open the safe. The reasoning was simple: She remembered that Wakana had stated in an interview that the combination dial to her safe was incapable of being sabotaged or extracted by any physical means. Only someone who knew the combination could get it open.

As Tamayo turned the dial counterclockwise, she muttered to herself "Breaking and entering, destruction of property, murder, safecracking… damn, I would have made a fine criminal in another lifetime."

Tamayo listened intently to the safe's interlocking mechanism. At one point, she heard a small "click," meaning she had found out the first number of the combination. Four more numbers to go.

She found the second and third numbers just as easily. However, each number had a quieter "click." She was worried that the last two would be close to inaudible.

"C'mon, c'mon," she muttered, "I came this far. Hell, I killed a classmate for this!"

Tamayo had all her hearing focused on the safe at this point. This proved to be a fatal mistake. Had she paid closer attention, she would have heard footsteps in the hallway.

Tamayo then managed to get the fourth number. She sighed in relief and began turning the dial counterclockwise once more.

"This is it," she said to herself, "I can get it."

She was so preoccupied that she did not hear the footsteps get closer to the room.

Tamayo spun the dial ever so slowly and kept her ear pressed to the safe. She was sweating with determination at this point.

Behind her, the footsteps were getting closer. Just when they were right behind her, Tamayo found the last number. She smiled in smug satisfaction and pulled the safe door open.

Inside was a large red diamond attached to a golden necklace. Tamayo smiled widely and reached out for it. She took it in her hand and held it close. It was even lovelier than she thought it would be.

"Say 'hello' to your new mistress, my dear," Tamayo whispered to the diamond, giggling softly.

A moment later, Tamayo felt a sharp pain in the back of her head. It was so overwhelming that she fell forward and hit her face against the safe. She dropped to the ground and moaned in pain, holding the side of her head with her free hand.

She slowly looked up. Someone was standing over her with her monkey wrench in hand. It was Riyeko!

Tamayo was shocked and angered at the same time. That blow on the back of her head made her feel weak, but she still had the strength to use her arms.

She reached for her gun, but before she got wrap her fingers around the handle, Riyeko struck her on the wrist. Tamayo could hear the joint break. She howled in anguish as this new pain came over her.

Riyeko looked down at Tamayo with an insane grin across her face. "I offered you a way out. You should have taken it when you had the chance."

"Please… don't…" Tamayo pleaded, but Riyeko ignored her.

She raised the wrench and struck Tamayo with it over and over again, mostly on the face and forehead. Tamayo's beating of the door could be considered "gentle" when compared to what Riyeko was doing to her.

After eleven blows, Tamayo was too weak to even sit up. She slumped back and laid absolutely still on the ground. Her left hand was still locked around the Firebrand.

After six more blows, Riyeko relented. She retained that insane grin and said cockily "If a diamond really is your best friend, than at least you died in the company of the best friend you'll ever have."

Tamayo did not respond. Riyeko did not expect her to. After all, it's hard to speak when your face is virtually beaten to a pulp.

Riyeko reached down and pulled Tamayo's gun out of her waistband. She commented "I'll just take this."

Once she had the gun in her right hand, she stood up and looked down at Tamayo's remains.

After an interval of silence, Riyeko started unbuttoning her blouse. When she was done, she pulled the two parts of it away from each other. Underneath, she was wearing a thick black vest. There was a dot of silver in the center of it. That was the bullet Tamayo had fired just a few minutes earlier. It never penetrated Riyeko's body.

Riyeko looked down at her bulletproof vest, and then she looked at the monkey wrench in her hand. She merely tossed it next to Tamayo's body and said "Quite ironic, isn't it, Tamayo? My weapon saved my life. Yours brought about your downfall."

**Girl #10 Tamayo Shintani – Dead**

**32 Students Remaining**


	19. The Risks Involved

**Note: Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! I'd like to tell you all that, because not many people say that to me. Instead, most people tell me "Happy Birthday." That's right, my birthday's on Valentine's Day. I'm pleased to say that yesterday was my last day as a teenager. I'm now twenty years old, and loving it!**

**On with the chapter…**

In F-5, there was a hospital. Most of the time, the location of the Program did not have a major medical facility. However, this city's hospital was large, well-stocked, and certainly qualified.

At this time, four of the aforementioned male students were approaching the hospital from the northwest. Only three of them were on their feet; one of them could not even stand without doubling over. He was the reason they were going to the hospital in the first place.

Daisuke Araki had been shot in the chest cavity almost an hour earlier. His companions had managed to clot the bleeding, but the bullet wound needed immediate attention.

As stated before, Daisuke could not stand; he was being carried by his best friend, Naozumi Matsuno. The gentle giant was very careful with Daisuke. Every few minutes, he would ask him things like "Are you sure this isn't too uncomfortable?" and "You holding together alright?"

Daisuke would just nod in response to all these questions. As they approached the hospital, Naozumi asked him these same questions again. In response, Daisuke humorously rolled his eyes and said quietly through an attempted smirk "Nao, enough with the questions already! I'm beginning to feel like I'm in an interrogation."

Naozumi could not help but chuckle a bit in return. He could tell Daisuke was in pain, but he still had his sense of humor.

Kenzou Iwamoto had been running at the back of the group. Having overheard Daisuke's remark, he caught up with Naozumi and told him "He shouldn't be talking, Naozumi. His diaphragm contracts every time he uses his vocal cords. He'll just end up tightening up the injury in his chest cavity that way."

"Got it," Naozumi answered. He turned back to Daisuke and stated "No more talking for right now, okay?"

Daisuke smirked again and slowly nodded his head.

Shuuichi Kai had been walking at the front of the group. As they neared the hospital, he held out his hand to signal for the others to stop. Once they were at a standstill, Shuuichi took the time to observe the building's exterior.

"Place looks deserted," he proclaimed as they resumed walking to the front entrance, "But we can never be too sure of that. We'll have to make certain it's empty."

"So what should we do?" asked Naozumi.

Shuuichi did not answer immediately. He rubbed his chin and contemplated what approach to take. He noticed a paramedic van was parked just a few meters away. After a few seconds, he turned to the others and announced "Kenzou, you and I will search the first floor. Naozumi, stay right here outside the entrance with Daisuke. Hide behind that van until we get back."

Naozumi nodded his head and walked over to the van. Based on the way it was parked, he could kneel down and remain hidden from view from anyone that may have been coming down the road at that time.

Shuuichi turned to Kenzou and asked him "You ready?"

The jock smiled and nodded his head. He gripped the Winchester Rifle in his arms by the barrel and the handle. Then he locked the action into place. He made a military salute and cockily commented "Private Iwamoto at your service, Corporal Kai."

Shuuichi just scoffed in response. He could tell Kenzou was already enjoying himself. While it may have seemed like an inappropriate time for enjoyment, it was at the very least a sign that Kenzou was just as levelheaded as ever. Inwardly, the only thing Shuuichi was really concerned about was whether or not Kenzou actually knew how to use the rifle he was holding. He certainly hoped so.

Shuuichi pulled his SIG Sauer P226 Rail out of his belt and pulled back the hammer. He then stood up against the wall beside the entrance and edged his way closer to the door. He pointed his handgun upward, keeping it at the ready. Kenzou followed his lead and pointed the rifle at the entrance, as if he expected a hostile party to come out at any time.

When he was just a few inches shy of the door, Shuuichi looked to Kenzou and wordlessly asked him if he was ready. Kenzou nodded his head and kept pointing his rifle at the door. Shuuichi turned back to the entrance and slid his foot over the mat in front of it. In response, the automatic doors slid open.

Shuuichi and Kenzou ran inside, keeping their guns brandished at all times. To their relief, the front rooms were empty. It broke off in two directions which ran in opposite directions.

"I'll search the right side, you search the life side," Shuuichi announced.

"Got it," said Kenzou.

The two of them each ran down a different hallway to explore a different part of the first floor. Shuuichi's half was composed of the rooms that handled most minor treatments as well as the basic checkup and diagnostic rooms while Kenzou's half was composed of the rooms which dealt with more extreme medical problems. Shuuichi's half was nearer to the ambulance garage and Kenzou's half was closer to the emergency room.

Truth be told, neither of them was expecting to find anyone there. But they kept their guard up and their weapons out to be on the safe side. They conducted a brief but thorough investigation of every room in the main building's first floor.

Outside, Naozumi was still crouching down behind the medical van. He still held Daisuke in his arms, as well. He had been carrying him ever since they left D-3, but his arms were not the least bit tired. He was confident that his strength would not fail him.

Naozumi noticed that Daisuke was struggling to keep his eyes open. The injury must have weakened him to the point of drowsiness.

"Come on, Daisuke, stay with me!" Naozumi urgently whispered to his best friend, "Try to stay awake. At least wait until Shuuichi and Kenzou come back. Once we're inside, you can sleep all you want!"

As before, Daisuke just weakly nodded his head in response. He would have verbally responded, but he remembered what Kenzou had told him earlier. So he merely remained silent and tried his hardest not to nod off. He placed his hand over his chest. It was still covered with the towel Shuuichi used to clot his wound. While the towel was partially soaked in blood, it still did a relatively fine job of preventing the wound from becoming infected.

Naozumi held Daisuke close. He would have done anything to relieve Daisuke of the pain he was in. If only it was that simple…

For the present, all he could do was wait for the others to get back soon with an all-clear.

"Hang in there," he whispered to Daisuke, "As soon as we're inside… everything will be alright."

Naozumi was not certain whether he was trying to convince Daisuke or himself that what he said was true. He just hoped he was correct for Daisuke's sake.

…

Back in D-7, Kaminari Ishida and Kazumitsu Hayashi were still alone in the front room. They were in the midst of forming a plan for winning the Program. They knew they would have to play for real in order to win. They would start with the people who shunned them, meaning Osamu Sano and the other three members of their gang.

"I would advise against using a direct approach," Kazumitsu remarked, "Even though I've got a flamethrower, I don't think it would be much good in an enclosed area like this one."

"You're right," Kaminari agreed, "Plus, all I've got as a weapon is that jar of acid."

"Looks like we'll have to think of something more subtle," Kazumitsu decided.

"Like what?" she asked.

"I'm not sure," was all he said, "I'll try to think of something. If you come up with any good ideas, feel free to share them with me."

"Of course," she stated.

A few minutes later, Osamu and Reika Fujihara returned to the front room of the bar. Kazumitsu and Kaminari pretended to look glad to see them.

"How's the sorting coming along?" inquired Osamu.

"We actually finished a while ago," Kazumitsu informed his Boss.

"You did?" stated Osamu, "Why didn't you come tell me?"

"We just figured you two were discussing something important," Kaminari replied frankly, "After all, you were back there for quite a while; we figured you did not want to be interrupted."

Reika raised an eyebrow and remarked "You're not suggesting anything happened between us, are you, Kaminari?"

"No, of course not," Kaminari answered while trying to keep a straight face.

"Are you certain of yourself?" said Osamu. While his feelings for Reika had in fact changed, he had a reputation he needed to uphold. By continuing to appear emotionless in front of his friends, he would show them he was still as calm and relaxed as ever. His hope was that the others would stay calm and relaxed in return. If all six of them could be this way, they would be able to plan a more effect plan for survival.

Kaminari merely stated "The six of us have been a group for years, Osamu. If nothing's happened between any of us in all that time, how could such a thing happen now?"

Her poker face did not fail her. However, as she said these words, she noticed that Osamu's cheeks were tinted a very light red in certain spots. While Reika used very little makeup, she was always fond of rose-colored lipstick. It did not take Kaminari long to reason out where the light marks on Osamu's face came from.

"An excellent point," commented Kazumitsu, "Besides, Gakuto and Toshirou aren't back yet. There's nothing much we could do until then."

"I guess you're right," said Osamu. He turned to the wall and walked over to the dartboard. He removed each of the darts one at a time. When he had all six of them in his hands, he asked aloud "Anyone up for a game of darts?"

"No thanks," answered Kaminari, leaning back in her chair, "I'm just going to get some rest while I can. After all, we've got a long day ahead of us."

"That sounds like a good idea," stated Reika. She walked over to another table and sat down. She opened up her supply pack and pulled out the manual for her pistol. She still had yet to fire it, so she figured a little studying would help her when the time came.

"Suit yourself," Osamu told the girls. He then turned to Kazumitsu and asked him "What about you? You want to pick up where we left off?"

"Sure, why not?" Kazumitsu neutrally responded. He stood up and walked over to Osamu. Halfway there, he muttered under his breath "So long as you don't cheat this time."

Osamu head him speak, but he did not hear the words that came out of his mouth. He looked over at Kazumitsu and asked him "Did you say something?"

"Yes, I said I'll take the game very seriously from this point on," Kazumitsu replied.

"Oh, good," Osamu remarked, "Promise me you won't go easy on me this time."

"I promise," Kazumitsu declared sarcastically.

Osamu actually had been cheating when the two of them played darts earlier that morning. He had bent the tails of his darts so that they would sail across the room at a smoother trajectory. This was considered a violation of the rules when playing darts in any bar in the world. Kazumitsu simply pretended not to notice. He decided to keep it that way. After all, when he told Osamu that he was taking the game seriously, he was actually referring to the Program, not the dart game.

The two of them continued playing darts. Osamu managed to win the first three rounds, as Kazumitsu predicted he would. Just as they began a fourth round, there was a knock at the door. It was immediately followed by a voice calling out "Special delivery!"

They all quickly recognized it as the voice of Toshirou Oosaki. Reika got out of her chair and walked over to the front entrance. She opened up the door. Toshirou was standing behind a loaded trolley with Gakuto Yamashita.

"You got quite a load here," Reika commented as she looked over all the equipment and supplies on the cart.

"Tell me about it," Gakuto remarked with a cunning smile, "You could say we had a chemist's equivalent of a shopping spree."

"That's nice to know," Osamu stated drily as he walked across the room towards the entrance, "Did you find everything you needed?"

"Indeed we did," answered Toshirou, "I'm just glad we managed to find room in the car for it all."

"I'm glad to hear that," said Osamu as he stood near the entrance next to Reika, "On that subject, where did you park the car? How far away from here?"

"Take a look for yourself," replied Gakuto as he gestured to his right.

Osamu moved to the doorframe and tilted his head outward. He saw that the car was parked only a meter away from the entrance of the bar. This took him quite by surprise.

"Wow, we didn't even hear you approach," he told his friends, "How did you manage to get this close without the engine making too much noise?"

"Two blocks south of here, we slowed our speed down to about ten miles an hour," Toshirou explained, "We found that going at that pace renders the engine almost totally silent. So we went even more slowly as we got closer to the bar. That way, anyone else who may have been in the area would be oblivious to our presence."

"Smart thinking," Osamu stated, "But why **did **you park it this close?"

"Because the car is still full of equipment and materials," Gakuto elucidated, "We have to make at least three more trips to move everything here. I would find it rather inconvenient and tedious to just keeping walking down the block and back here until we're done."

"I understand your position," Osamu told him, "It's alright with me if we keep it there for the moment. But it would probably be a good idea to move it down the road later on."

"Agreed," said Toshirou, "For now, let's just get this stuff inside."

The six classmates spent the next ten minutes bringing boxes and canisters inside the bar, setting them out on the tables, and rolling the trolley back outside to reload it. Once they had all their equipment and materials indoors, Reika shut the door and locked it back up.

Gakuto rubbed his hands together as he looked around the front room. Nearly all the tables had a crate or bag of supplies on it. He had instructed the others to place everything in a particular spot so that he could keep track of it all.

"Looks like I've got my work cut out for me," he thought aloud.

"How long does nitroglycerin take to make?" inquired Osamu.

"Hard to say for sure; it normally depends on one's resources and gear," Gakuto responded, "But it will take at least a few hours."

"Anything the rest of us can do to help?" Toshirou offered.

"I'd very much appreciate some assistance," Gakuto retorted, "But you'll have to do **exactly **what I tell you to do. This is a delicate process that needs to be handled with the utmost care."

Toshirou scoffed and said "I figured that on my own, Gakuto. We're making nitroglycerin, after all!"

Gakuto shrugged humorously, saying "Exactly the point I'm trying to make."

He sat down at one of the few empty tables and took his backpack off his shoulders. He opened it up and pulled out a green folder. This was the folder he used for his chemistry class.

"Gakuto, why do you have your chemistry folder with you?" inquired Kaminari.

"I just thought I might have had some time to do a few experiments on the class trip," Gakuto explained, "That may seem like a stupid idea, but you never know. Right now, I'm just really glad I brought it along; I have a few recipes I've been meaning to try out for a while. Nitroglycerin happens to be one of them."

"That's good to know," said Osamu, "I just realized that we wouldn't be able to find the recipe to make nitroglycerin unless one of us already had it. After all, Furutani said the internet is down."

"True," Gakuto concurred as he removed one of the recipes from his chemistry folder, "But it's a damn good thing the soldiers didn't frisk us or our backpacks before they dropped us off. Otherwise they would have found this."

"But have you ever actually made nitroglycerin before?" asked Kazumitsu.

"Nope, but now's as good a time as any to test it out," Gakuto reasoned out, "Sometimes we don't have time for a trial and error run; some things need to be carried out on the first try."

"A wise philosophy, Gakuto," stated Toshirou, "I'm certain Teru would quite agree with it."

The other four members of the group were confused by Toshirou's last remark.

"What does that mean?" asked Osamu, "When did Teru come into all this?"

Gakuto and Toshirou did not respond immediately. They both realized that they had yet to bring up the subject of Teru Machida and his plans to shut down the school. They wondered if it was a good idea to bring that up with their friends so soon. After all, they were not quite certain Teru's plan was going to work; if they told their friends about it, they would risk instilling a false sense of hope.

However, the two of them were inclined to share everything they knew about the Program with their friends. They just turned to each other, as if they were both going to ask "Should we tell them?" Ultimately, they both ended up nodding their heads.

Gakuto turned to Osamu and explained "A couple hours ago, just after we left the chemical storage facility, we encountered Teru outside the carpentry shop in C-7. Toshirou just barely managed to avoid running him over."

Toshirou rolled his eyes and said "Hey, at least I **didn't** hit him! That's what counts."

"What was he doing at the carpentry shop?" inquired Reika.

"He was hauling a bunch of lumber," answered Gakuto, "After Toshirou jerked the car to a halt, he came around to the driver's door and tapped on the glass."

"I take it you talked with him?" Osamu assumed.

"We did not know what else to do; he was armed with a harpoon rifle," Gakuto pointed out, "He could have used it against us even from outside the car, but he didn't. So I had Toshirou roll down his window."

"What happened next?" asked Kazumitsu.

"We had the most interesting conversation with him," Toshirou recounted, "It started out a little coarsely, but gradually it became less tense. He told us some **very **interesting things."

"Such as what?" queried Kaminari.

The rest of the explanation was mostly a recollection of the conversation Toshirou and Gakuto had with Teru. The very first thing they brought up was the microphones implanted in the necklaces. Before they went on, they instructed everyone else to cover up the front parts of their necklaces. That way, they could go on without exposing Teru to Furutani.

Once they all had their necklaces covered up, Toshirou and Gakuto revealed what they knew about Teru's plan to sabotaging the Program. Their knowledge of it was not very extensive, as Teru had only told them the main components of it. However, the others could understand everything they were being told. Toshirou and Gakuto made certain to emphasize the important part of Teru's plans, which involved him using his modified disruption code to cut off the school's flow of electricity.

Toshirou and Gakuto also mentioned what Teru planned to do after he managed to shut down the school. This was the part of it that involving slicing into the city's broadcast network and instructing all the survivors to gather near his position in D-5. From there, they could all work together to seize the school and then work on an escape plan before the border guards moved in.

At the very least, the two of them were confident that this part of the plan could be executed easily enough.

"I take it you all heard that unscheduled announcement earlier on?" stated Toshirou.

"Reika and I were in the back room, but we heard it," answered Osamu, "What about it?"

"That was Teru's handiwork," said Gakuto, "He told us he wanted to test out his splicing algorithm before he got to the disruption code. I imagine he pissed off quite a few people up at the school."

"Very interesting way of testing it out," commented Kazumitsu, "Did he say how many people he's working with on this?"

"Yep, just himself and himself," replied Toshirou, "He explicitly told us he did not want any help on this scheme of his."

"Really?" asked Kaminari, "He actually said that?"

"He did indeed," answered Gakuto.

"Do you suppose that's why he wants to wait until after he's used the disruption code to access the loudspeaker network and gather everyone together?" said Reika.

"That may be one of the reasons," Gakuto acknowledged, "But I think there's much more to it than that."

"What do you mean?" asked Osamu.

Gakuto did not answer him. He just turned to the wall and stared blankly at it for about a minute. Then he took a deep breath and said "Guys, I'll be honest with you. Neither Toshirou nor I know for certain if Teru's plan is going to work. In fact, even he isn't sure it will work. I think **that's **the reason he won't use the loudspeakers to bring everyone together until after the school is disabled."

"Gakuto, what exactly are you saying?" stated Kazumitsu.

"Well, Kazumitsu, I'm only being hypothetical, but let's say for a moment that Teru **did **go ahead and have everyone group together," Gakuto theorized, "We should all know such a thing would virtually be impossible anyway. This far into the Program, some people are bound to be too deep into the game to turn back. But I'm still just being hypothetical. So let's say we all got together and Teru's plan **didn't **work. What do you suppose would happen then?"

Kazumitsu replied with "Maybe we'd try to come up with a Plan B?"

"Suppose there **is **no Plan B," Gakuto countered, "Say we all got together and fucked up on our one chance to escape the Program, what would happen then?"

After a few moments of silence, Kazumitsu shrugged and said "Nothing, really. Except that the game would go on."

"That's just it," Gakuto nodded his head and stood up out of his chair, "We would still be stuck in the Program. It would be hard enough to get through it on our own. But if we were all together… well, just imagine how fast things would go wrong."

"He's right," agreed Reika, "If we all got together and the plan failed… it would be easy for anyone to crack under the pressure."

"We could still try to think up another plan," Kaminari suggested, "Suppose we told everyone we were in the process of working out a backup strategy. That may be a longshot, but it would be worth a try."

"Until the deadline," Toshirou remarked coldly.

Kaminari turned to him and asked in perplexity "What do you mean?"

"Ummm, HELLO?" Toshirou almost yelled, "Kaminari, have you forgotten the last thing Furutani told us? If twenty-four whole hours go by without a single death… all the survivors' necklaces will detonate."

"He's right," Reika agreed, "That's one problem we can't solve until the school's been disabled. What could we do to avoid reaching the deadline?"

"Why don't we draw straws every twenty-four hours?" Kazumitsu sarcastically proposed, "Whoever gets the shortest straw will have to 'take one for the team.'"

"Oh, brilliant idea, Kazumitsu," Osamu responded in an equally sarcastic manner, "Do you actually think we could get **anyone **to agree to that ludicrous idea?"

"If we did, wouldn't the remainder of the class theoretically be able to hold out for weeks?" asked Kaminari.

"Oh, no, not by any means would that be possible," Gakuto interjected, "This game would be over in less than ten days."

"How can you be sure of that?" asked Osamu.

"Well, think about this in perspective, if you would," Gakuto elucidated, "The city is divided into one hundred different zones. C-5 was already a danger zone near the start of the game, so we had ninety-nine other zones that we can still safely navigate through. However, every two hours starting at seven o'clock, one of them becomes forbidden. At that rate, it would take 198 hours for every single square mile in the city to become a danger zone. Now divide that value by 24."

The others thought this division problem out in their heads for a few seconds. Toshirou was the first to respond. He said "That comes out to 8.25."

"Correct," Gakuto nodded his head.

"What's your point, Gakuto?" asked Kaminari.

He replied "Simple; in exactly eight and a-quarter days from this morning, the entire city becomes forbidden. Even if we all six of us managed to survive that long, we would be fucked anyway. Because no matter where we are in the city, our necklaces – as well as those of anyone else who may have made it that far – will detonate."

Everyone realized Gakuto was in fact correct. There was no reason why the danger zones would cease piling up. If Teru's plan did not work, they would all be dead within a week.

"What is today?" Osamu inquired to no one in particular.

"Saturday," Reika answered, "I would know because yesterday was the last day of class, which is always on Friday."

"Was it really just yesterday?" stated Toshirou, "Right now, it feels like it was forever ago."

"I understand the sentiment," Kaminari agreed.

"I'm sure we all do," Gakuto remarked, "But now's not the time to reminisce. I believe Osamu was saying something. Let's let him talk."

The others quieted down and turned back to Osamu. They could tell he was thinking something out in his head. When he was done, he turned back to them and told them "If today is Saturday, and we really have eight and a quarter days until everywhere on the map is a danger zone … that means we basically have until about eleven o'clock next Sunday to implement a plan of escape."

"Teru won't need that long," Gakuto informed his Boss, "But he did say he'd need several hours to set his software up and to rewrite his disruption code. He estimated it would be finished sometime this afternoon. This evening at the latest."

"Let's hope everything goes smoothly for him," commented Reika.

After a few moments of silence, the six of them removed their hands from their necklaces, uncovering the microphones once more. There was nothing more they had to say that was too confidential or precious for Furutani and the soldiers to know about.

Finally, Gakuto announced "I'd better get to work. Escape plan or no escape plan, we'll need a stronger arsenal if we want to have any long-term plans for survival. This nitroglycerin won't brew itself."

"Agreed," said Osamu.

Once this discussion ended, the six gang members were aware now more than ever of how much was truly at stake. They found it a little peculiar that their best hope for escaping was Teru Machida. He was known by his classmates as both a method actor and a computer whiz. None of them would have ever thought him capable of successfully going against the Program. But they held out hope for him and his efforts all the same.

At least four of them held out hope. The other two were secretly planning to win the game together.

…

Just a mile west of City Hall, the hospital was about to have its first patient since the city's evacuation.

Shuuichi Kai was standing in the lobby. He had been there for about five minutes, pacing back and forth around the room. He rested his handgun against his shoulder. Out of a nervous habit, he kept flipping the safety on and off.

He had already searched through his half of the first floor, and as he expected, no one was there. He had even searched the parking garage and found it empty. Now he was waiting for Kenzou Iwamoto to return.

Shuuichi knew Kenzou was not a hasty person. He had superb awareness and reflexes. If any trouble came his way, Shuuichi knew he would be ready to respond in a heartbeat. He was hopeful that the only reason Kenzou was not in the lobby yet was that he was taking his time to conduct a thorough search of his half of the first floor.

A moment later, Kenzou finally returned. He was still armed with the Winchester rifle and his Taser was tucked into his belt. When he saw Shuuichi was already there, he reported "Just as I thought. Place is completely abandoned."

"You were gone awhile," Shuuichi noted.

"The emergency room took a while to examine," Kenzou claimed, "Unfortunately, most of the useful equipment's been removed."

"You sure?" asked Shuuichi.

"Quite," answered Kenzou, "We'll have to make do with something in the other wards."

"Alright, if you say so," Shuuichi remarked as he tucked his handgun into his belt. He turned to the front entrance and walked over to it. The automatic doors opened up for him and he called out "Naozumi, come on in! The coast is clear!"

Just a few seconds later, Naozumi Matsuno entered the building carrying Daisuke Araki in his arms. Once they were inside, the automatic doors closed up once again.

"Where to?" inquired Naozumi

"I'd recommend the second floor," Kenzou suggested, "If the first floor was empty, I'm certain the rest of the building will be as well. And I have a feeling we're not the only ones who have thought of coming here. So just to be on the safe side, we should go upstairs. That way, if anyone else comes around, there won't be any indication that we've been in the first floor."

The others saw the logic in Kenzou's reasoning and agreed to this arrangement. They headed over to the elevator and used it to go one floor up. Shuuichi and Kenzou were the first ones out. He kept their guns at the ready and scouted ahead. Naozumi followed them close behind. From there, they made their way to the immediate care ward.

First they went to the main examination room to see if they could access any of the advanced medical equipment. That would make running a diagnostic of Daisuke's wound much easier. Their findings were not promising.

"I'm locked out of the MRI and the CAT Scan," Shuuichi announced to the others as tried to access the said machinery from a panel on the wall.

"Even the X-rays need a clearance code," Kenzou pointed out from another panel, "Looks like we'll have to resort to studying the wound the old-fashioned way."

"Meaning?" said Naozumi.

"We'll have to rely solely on our eyes and Daisuke's senses," Kenzou clarified, "Come on; let's get him to an operation room."

They left the room and headed off to a different part of the wing. Soon they came to a small room with a movable cot in it.

"This is it," Kenzou informed the others as they entered the room. He made his way over to the cot and instructed Naozumi "Put him down here."

Naozumi nodded and approached the bed. He carefully lowered Daisuke down onto it. He propped him up against the pillows to make certain he was sitting up at a forty-five degree angle.

Across the room, Kenzou found a box of latex gloves. He pulled three pairs of gloves out of it, and then he gave one pair to Shuuichi, one to Naozumi, and kept the last pair for himself.

As the three of them donned the gloves, Kenzou asked Daisuke "How do you feel? Do you feel any chill or rush of heat?"

Daisuke slowly nodded his head and placed his hand over the reddest part of the towel on his chest. He weakly said "Right here, right where the bullet entered. It feels like my internal organs there are burning up."

"I thought as much; that's a sign that the wound might get infected," Kenzou informed him, "But this can be avoided if we work quickly."

He went over to a counter and began opening drawers. Every now and then, he removed a few items from them. He told Naozumi and Shuuichi over his shoulder "Daisuke's going to need a lot of fluids to ease the burning sensation and to keep his body hydrated. I'm going to prepare an IV to manage this. While I'm working on that, you two see if you can get his jacket and shirt off."

Naozumi and Shuuichi did as they were told. After removing the towel covering Daisuke's wound, they were able to unbutton his jacket and uniform shirt without hurting him. The wound looked unpleasant, but at least the bleeding had stopped.

"Any black spots?" Kenzou asked as he prepared the IV.

"Nope, none," answered Shuuichi.

"Good, that's a sign that gangrene hasn't set in yet," Kenzou thought aloud, "But we have to make sure it stays that way. We'll have to operate using what we got."

"Have you ever actually performed an operation before, Kenzou?" asked Shuuichi.

"Nope, but I have extensive knowledge of human anatomy," answered Kenzou, "That's one of the main reasons I'm the rugby coach's assistant manager. Before Coach Urabe gave me the position, he told me that was one of the requirements I needed to have."

Kenzou paused for a moment and looked over his shoulder, saying "Shuuichi, Naozumi, you guys will have to do **exactly** what I tell you to do in order for this to work. Even if what I'm doing seems risky, you must not question it. Is that understood?"

"You got it, Kenzou," stated Naozumi. Shuuichi nodded in acknowledgment.

A minute later, Kenzou wheeled an IV on a metal stand over to Daisuke's bed. He took a cotton ball and soaked it in a bottle of alcohol. Then he rubbed the back of Daisuke's left hand to find a vein. Once he found one, Kenzou took the needle to the IV and carefully inserted it into the back of Daisuke's hand. Then he used medical tape to keep the needle in place.

Daisuke did not as much as flinch when the IV was inserted. He was already in too much pain to give any mind to this small prick in his hand.

After this, Kenzou told Daisuke "I'm going to apply pressure to certain parts of your chest. Wherever the pain is least intense is where we should operate from."

"I understand," Daisuke whispered.

Kenzou pressed his hands down on a part of Daisuke's chest and looked to him for a response. "Doesn't hurt that much."

Kenzou moved his hands downward a little and looked to Daisuke again. The wounded boy replied with "It hurts a little more there."

When Kenzou moved his hands a little to the left, Daisuke felt the urge to undergo a violent spasm. "Hurts like shit there."

"Right," Kenzou noted as he moved his hands in the opposite direction. Then he asked "What about there?"

"No new pain," Daisuke responded, "None at all."

"Good," stated Kenzou. He told Naozumi and Shuuichi, "Mark that spot down. We'll approach from there to extract the bullet."

Over the next twenty minutes, Kenzou guided Naozumi and Shuuichi through the operation. It was a very long and intricate process.

First, they injected some morphine into the bag hooked up to Daisuke's IV. That provided him some relief from the pain he felt, but it would not be much help for the pain to come.

Once the morphine set in, Kenzou told Daisuke "You may want to grip someone's hand before we go on. That could help counteract the pain a little more."

At that, Naozumi offered Daisuke his left hand. Daisuke slowly lifted his right arm and took his best friend's hand in his own.

"Couldn't you just… I dunno, 'put him under?'" Naozumi inquired, "I thought hospitals had some type of sedating gas for these sorts of things."

"That is correct," Kenzou confirmed, "But anesthetic gasses are difficult to work with. Overdosing on them is not hard. Believe me; it's better that Daisuke be conscious while we operate."

"Kenzou's right," Shuuichi muttered aloud, "Besides, those anesthetics aren't that much different from the knockout gas the army used on us at the movie theater yesterday. I have no desire to go anywhere near that stuff for a long time."

"My thoughts exactly, Shuuichi," Daisuke agreed. He saw the concerned look on Naozumi's face and told his best friend "I'll be fine, don't worry. I'm certain Kenzou knows what he's doing."

Naozumi nodded his head down at Daisuke and then he looked up at Kenzou. He stated "Go ahead and start whenever you're ready."

"I'll be ready in a few minutes," stated Kenzou, "First, there's a few more things we need to do to prepare."

At that, he stepped away from the bed and went around to room to gather some more tools. He returned with a few tongue dispensers, a stethoscope, and an organized tray of doctor's utensils.

First he took the tongue dispensers and piled them one on top of the other. He told Daisuke "You're going to have to hold these at the front of your mouth while I'm operating. At times, sudden bursts of pain can incite one's jaws to clamp shut. This will ensure you don't bite off your tongue."

Daisuke nodded and opened his mouth. Kenzou held the tongue dispensers up to his mouth sideways. When they were aligned with his teeth, Daisuke bit down on them to keep them in place.

Next, Kenzou handed the stethoscope to Shuuichi and instructed him "I'll need you to monitor Daisuke's heart while I'm working. If it starts beating too slowly or too rapidly for longer than ten seconds, let me know. That's a sign that I'll need to stop whatever I'm doing."

"You can count on me," the marksman assured him. He bent the rubber tubes so that the earpieces were wider than his head. Then he slipped the earpieces into his ears. He picked up the bell of the stethoscope and held it up to Daisuke's chest. Once he found the heart, he informed Kenzou "I can hear his heart. It's beating a little slower than it should be."

"I was expecting that, seeing as how the bullet missed his heart by only about three inches," Kenzou remarked, "Come stand on this side of the bed with me. I might need your free hand."

Shuuichi nodded and walked around to the left side of the bed so that he was standing next to Kenzou. He stood at the end of the bed, holding the stethoscope at the read. Naozumi was still standing at the right side of the bed, holding Daisuke's right hand in his left hand. Kenzou looked to him next and told him "Naozumi, I'll need you to use your free arm to hold down Daisuke's legs. His jaws aren't the only body parts that might react undesirably to sudden bursts of pain. If he's inclined to kick as a response, he could throw off any hope we have of safely extracting the bullet."

"I understand completely," Naozumi acknowledged. He took his right arm and pressed it down on the upper halves of Daisuke's legs. The gentle giant had more than enough strength to hold them both down, but he was still careful not to use too much force.

Kenzou took a deep breath and looked down at his "patient." He told him in a completely serious tone "This is it. I'm about to begin the operation. But it may take a great deal of time. I cannot promise it'll be quick or simple. Nor can I promise it'll be painless. Daisuke… do you trust me?"

Daisuke could not verbally respond due to the tongue dispensers in his mouth. He just calmly nodded his head in response. He was definitely afraid of what would happen, but he desperately wanted to get the bullet out of his stomach.

"Alright then," said Kenzou, "Here we go. Shuuichi, keep track of his heart."

As Shuuichi leaned over and held the bell of the stethoscope on top of Daisuke's heart, Kenzou turned to the table next to the bed. He started by picked up a scalpel and a large pair of tweezers. He turned to Daisuke and leaned over him.

Both Daisuke and Naozumi widened their eyes at the sight of the tools, a gesture which did not go unnoticed by Kenzou. He told them in an easy tone "I have to do this. The bullet hole is too small to extract the metal bits manually. I'll need to make it a little bigger to inspect the damage and to safely remove it. I can still stitch Daisuke back up when I'm done. Okay?"

After a few moments of contemplation, Daisuke and Naozumi slowly nodded their heads. Daisuke began squeezing Naozumi's hand. Kenzou turned to the bullet hole and looked down upon it. He took a very deep breath and exhaled very slowly. After this, he commented softly "Here we go."

Kenzou leaned over Daisuke's chest and held the scalpel over the spot Daisuke claimed was devoid of pain. Then with one slow but steady move of his wrist, he made a shallow incision along the spot towards the bullet hole.

Almost instinctively, Daisuke wanted to shout in pain. He would have, had the tongue dispensers not been in his mouth. All he could do was moan rather loudly. As Kenzou predicted, Daisuke also tried involuntarily kicking his legs. But Naozumi was there to hold them down.

"His heart's beating really quickly now, Kenzou!" Shuuichi hastily informed Kenzou.

"That's to be expected; the heart always beats faster whenever the body is penetrated by a foreign device," Kenzou elucidated. He said to Daisuke "You're doing just fine. Now I'll need to examine the injury up close."

At that, Kenzou put the scalpel down on the utensil tray and picked up a small infrared light. He turned back to Daisuke's wound and used the tweezers to pry it open slightly. A big of fresh blood leaked out when this happened. Daisuke continued moaning, but the tongue dispensers prevented him from shouting.

When the hole in Daisuke's chest was about an inch in diameter, Kenzou activated the infrared light and held it over the wound. He studied the internal area around the bullet hole very closely, trying to determine how much damage had been dealt to Daisuke's body.

After about a minute, he smiled and announced "I'm pleased to say everything is in its proper place. No bones or organs were hit by the bullet. All it hit was muscle tissue."

"And that's a good thing, right?" asked Naozumi.

"Yes, Daisuke's very lucky," Kenzou explained, "Had the bullet struck anything extremely essential like his vertebrae or his digestive system, it would have probably taken me over an hour to even begin to try removing it without doing more damage. But now… I think I can do it in less than ten minutes. Five if all of you still give me your full cooperation."

"You have it, Kenzou," Shuuichi replied, still keeping the bell of the stethoscope over Daisuke's heart. Naozumi and Daisuke both nodded their heads in compliance. Daisuke was clearly in worse pain than before, but he was willing to suffer a little more if it meant getting the bullet out of him.

Kenzou told him "I'm sorry to say that I'm going to have to make the incision a little wider. Otherwise the tweezers might not be able to reach the bullet."

Daisuke weakly nodded again, albeit somewhat reluctantly. Kenzou could only imagine how agonizing this all must have been for him. But it had to be done. Otherwise the bullet would continue spreading lead into his bloodstream and act as a mineral poison.

Kenzou put down the infrared light and picked the scalpel back up. He looked to Shuuichi as if to ask him how Daisuke's heart was holding up.

"He's doing fine," Shuuichi notified him, "It's still beating a little slowly, but it's closer to normal than it was before."

"Good." Kenzou turned to Daisuke and gave the bullet wound his attention once more. He made another incision near the wound. This one was in the opposite direction of the first incision. Daisuke tried screaming and convulsing again, but the tongue dispensers and Naozumi stopped him from doing these respective actions.

"You're doing great, Daisuke," Kenzou softly told his companion as he traded the scalpel for the infrared light once more. He held it over the wound and thought aloud "I just need to stretch the wound a little and I should have a clear view of the bullet wound."

"Be careful, Kenzou," Shuuichi cautioned his friend, "Daisuke's heart stopped beating rapidly about fifteen seconds after the first incision. It's been about thirty seconds since you made the second incision, and it's still beating dangerously fast."

"Alright, thanks for letting me know, Shuuichi," stated Kenzou, "I'll be extra careful with the next part of the operation. But I'll need you to loan me your free hand."

"Of course," Shuuichi agreed, holding out his left hand to the athlete.

Kenzou told him "I don't need it just yet. I'll let you know when I do."

Shuuichi nodded and put his left hand down. Kenzou took his tweezers and put them at the opening of the bullet hole. Then he slid his middle finger up the center so that the metal prongs bent in opposite directions. As a result, the bullet hole was opened up even more widely than before.

At this point, Daisuke was going to incredible length not to spasm or scream. Something was giving him the strength to go through with this crude operation. He did not know what it was, but he was hopeful his determination would not fail him when he was so close to getting the bullet out.

Once the bullet hole was about two inches in diameter, Kenzou held it there and turned to Shuuichi. He told him "Now he's where I need your free hand. I'll need you to hold these tweezers in place while I remove the bullet."

Shuuichi nodded and took the tweezers in his left hand. He kept them in place so that the bullet hole was still two inches wide. After this, Kenzou turned to the utensil tray and picked up a smaller pair of tweezers. He then turned back to Daisuke, leaned over him again, and held the infrared light over his injury. He used the light once more to study Daisuke's interiors. After a moment, there was a dim flash of metal.

"I see the bullet," he told the others. He held the smaller pair of tweezers over the wound and announced "I'm going in."

Kenzou carefully inserted the prongs of the smaller tweezers into the two-inch hole. He was careful to avoid touching the sides of the hole as he worked. After a few seconds, the tweezers came in contact with the bullet. Kenzou found that the bullet had made a miniscule internal dent in Daisuke's chest. The dent was not seriously compromising to Daisuke's health, but the bullet was stuck in place. This meant that Kenzou would have to extract the bullet with the utmost care. He needed to use just the right amount of force. Too little would not be enough to as much as budge the bullet; too much could end up hurting Daisuke.

Kenzou took another deep breath and went back to work as he released it. He took the tweezers and closed them around the bullet. Once he was certain he had a firm grip on it, he began pulling. He was gentle at first, but he gradually increased his exerted force on it. He began to sweat after about thirty seconds. He was starting to worry that the bullet would not come out without making him struggle.

Kenzou's grip on the bullet slipped three times, but each time, he tried again. He was not going to give up after all he had put Daisuke through. As it turned out, the fourth time was the charm.

On the fourth try, Kenzou managed to twist the bullet loose from the dent. After this, he managed to grip it with his tweezers and pull it out slowly. He held it in the air for the others to see. A look of satisfaction came across his face and he announced cheekily "Gentleman, saw hello to our little friend."

The other three boys just sighed in relief when they saw that the bullet was finally out. Kenzou took over handling the large tweezers from Shuuichi. He carefully pulled the prongs together and removed them from Daisuke's chest. The hole slowly returned to its original size.

"I guess the hard part's over?" Naozumi stated hopefully. He still held Daisuke's right hand in his left hand and kept Daisuke's legs pinned down with his right arm.

"Maybe," Kenzou responded as he picked up a towel and used it to wipe the sweat off his face. He picked up another towel and approached the bed again. He used the towel to cover up Daisuke's injury. Then he told Shuuichi and Naozumi "Now we'll have to sew him back up. That'll be relatively easy; I've done that sort of thing before. Coach Urabe trained me how to do it."

"What do you need us to do?" queried Shuuichi.

"I'll need your help to find and set up all the materials, Shuuichi," Kenzou replied. He turned to the largest boy and told him "Naozumi, I just need you to make certain Daisuke does not move. He's got an open injury right now; the slightest twitch could easily rupture a blood vessel in his chest. So until Shuuichi and I are able to close it up, stay by his side."

"You got it, Kenzou," Naozumi agreed, "Can I at least take the tongue dispensers out of his mouth?"

"Certainly," was the jock's answer. As he and Shuuichi went to work gathering some more equipment, Naozumi reached up to Daisuke's mouth with his right arm and carefully pulled out the tongue dispensers. There were five of them total. The one at the top and the one at the bottom had almost been broken in half. That was how hard Daisuke had bitten down on them.

Naozumi just put the tongue dispensers to the side and gently lowered Daisuke's right arm back down to the bed. He then looked his best friend in the eye. He looked very weak, but a small grin had come across his face. Naozumi asked him "How do you feel?"

"Dizzy, and a little nauseous," Daisuke enlightened him, speaking very quietly, "But as long as Kenzou's able to close up my wound, I think I'll be alright. Thanks for being there for me, Nao."

Naozumi just smiled and said "Of course, Dai. What are friends for?"

The four of them were left in silence. However, just a few minutes later, a familiar sound broke through the silence. It was the loudspeaker network coming back online.

"Well, there's a sound we haven't heard in a while," Shuuichi stated sarcastically.

"You think it's just another false alarm?" remarked Naozumi, "Or do you think it really is the noon announcement?"

"I think it's the real thing," Daisuke said softly. He lightly gestured towards a clock on the other end of the room. Both of its hands were on the 12 symbol.

"Perhaps we should stop for a moment to listen," Kenzou suggested.

"Sure, why not?" said Shuuichi.

The two of them went over to their supply packs and pulled out their maps, as well as the class lists which they had also been provided with. They sat down in a couple of chairs in different parts of the room and got ready for the announcement to begin.

"I hope this won't take long," commented Kenzou as he slouched back in his chair, "Furutani's voice really creeps me out."

"No kidding," Shuuichi muttered in agreement, "But for now, let's just quiet down and listen. We don't want to miss anything important."

…

In C-5, Shigenori Furutani had just gotten back out of his comfortable chair. He picked up his microphone and tested it by tapping his index finger against the top of it. Once he knew it was on, he began the noon announcement. He spoke into the microphone with that same unpleasant tone of voice as before. None of the students were even close to getting used to hearing him speak.

He opened up with "Good afternoon, young warriors. My congratulations to those of you who have survived the first half of Day 1. However… I'm a little disappointed in one of you for a little mishap that occurred earlier. I'm certain you all know what I'm talking about."

Furutani paused for a moment. Then he continued with "My men are in the midst of conducting an investigation. I can assure you that we will discover the identity of whoever was responsible for breaking into the loudspeaker network and playing that musical number. The culprit had better hope our efforts fail; otherwise his or her collar just might end up 'malfunctioning.'"

Furutani paused again to let the message sink in. Then he picked up the sheet labeled "Program Obituary." He walked around the room and said into the microphone "Onto the list of the dead. Despite that security breach, we've still had plenty of action in the past six hours. As before, this is in chronological order. To start off, Girl #1, Abe Namiko-san and Girl #16, Hakugi Rumi-san. This class certainly lost a great deal of eye candy when those two went down. But oh well; I suppose their ploys would have gotten a bit dull and repetitive eventually. I suppose it's poetic justice to fall victim to one's own traps, anyway.

"Next, Boy #6, Ohara Hitoshi-kun," Furutani went on, "I must admit, I was quite impressed by how he went down. I never would have expected the class altruist to fight back against a confirmed player with such… stamina. It would have been interesting to see him emerge victorious. Had he not hesitated, he probably would have.

"Next, we have Boy #22, Yoshizawa Tsukasa-kun," stated Furutani, "Can't really say someone as haughty and cynical as the theater club president will be missed. He probably would have survived had he learned to listen to criticism like a real actor. Then there's Boy #10, Shiroi Goro-kun. As far as sentiment goes, I would say he generated a fair deal with the audiences back home, what with that sermon of his 'tragic upbringing.' Who knows? Maybe he finally got that recognition he so craved.

"Wrapping up the list is Girl #10, Shintani Tamayo-san," Furutani remarked, a modicum of displeasure apparent in his voice, "Shame on her; she should have been more focused on playing the game than collecting a bunch of intrinsically worthless stones. Plus, imagine what Wakana will think of her when she finds her dead in her bedroom. Not a pretty picture at all, if you ask me."

"These six deaths bring the body count up to thirteen," Furutani said into the microphone, "Now for the danger zones. At 1300 Hours sharp, A-6 will be a danger zone. Then at 1500 Hours, D-9 becomes a danger zone. As of 1700 Hours, J-8 is one as well. Take these down and make certain to avoid them by the time the deadlines come about. There's no need for this game to have any pointless deaths."

Furutani moved across the room towards his comfortable chair and sat down in it again. He finished the noon announcements with "The day is now half-over. Try to make the most of the next twelve hours. You all still have a chance to get out of the game early. As long as Master Blaine Rhodes draws breath, he could be your ticket out of the Program. So once again, I encourage you to increase your efforts to find him. Until the evening announcements, I say farewell!"

The loudspeakers were then deactivated once more, covering the city in total silence yet again.

…

"Another hour, another death," Genji Nishihara muttered amusedly under his breath.

Like most of his surviving classmates, he had paid close attention to the afternoon announcements.

Four of the six on the obituary meant nothing to him. Those four would be Namiko, Rumi, Tsukasa, and Tamayo. He always had a low opinion of all four of them. To him, Namiko and Rumi were a pair of shameless hookers, Tsukasa was a conceited fool, and Tamayo was an egoistic brat.

The only one he felt any amount of emotion for was Goro. Goro had been one of Genji's best friends throughout junior high, and one of the few people Genji genuinely liked. He was always talking about the problems he had with getting his family to notice him. Genji actually admired Goro's many efforts to get his family's acknowledgement. To Genji, familial bonds were sacred. He respected Goro for wanting his family's acceptance of his work above everything else.

Of course, Genji was a little glad that someone else had killed Goro. Otherwise, he would had had to do it himself. While Goro may have been a friend to him at school, Genji saw him no differently from anyone else in the Program. If he had to, he would have killed him just as he killed Chieko.

Genji had already thought about five of the people on the obituary. He began thinking about the sixth individual. This was the one who had been the third listed. This was Hitoshi.

Of the six on the obituary, the only one Genji had been responsible for was Hitoshi. It had been almost three and a-half hours since he shot him down in I-5.

Ever since that incident, Genji had been keeping a low profile. He had been dealt quite a beating earlier that morning. Hitoshi may have seemed like a quiet, meek, and harmless person, but Genji had encountered a much different side of him.

While Genji had emerged victorious from that encounter, he had also emerged from it with his uniform mangled and his body covered in a plethora of deep cuts. That was something he definitely did not expect to happen whilst he was in the Program.

After he killed Hitoshi, Genji decided to find shelter for a few hours to get some rest and to treat his wounds. First, he picked up Hitoshi's whip and put it in his supply pack. At first glance, the whip did not appear particularly useful, especially when compared to his submachine gun, but Genji needed as many weapons as he could carry. After all, this was the Program; his resources were limited to anything he could work with.

Once he had the whip stored in his supply pack, Genji took out his map and looked around for a medical facility. He decided to make his way to the hospital in F-5. That was a little less than three miles north of his position.

Genji was not in any rush; he knew that by running or walking too quickly he would probably risk opening up his injuries and making them even worse than they already were. So he carefully paced himself and moved north at a steady pace.

After an hour, he had gotten to the hospital in F-5. This had been at around nine-thirty, nearly an hour and a-half before Daisuke, Shuuichi, Kenzou, and Naozumi had arrived there. Unlike those four boys, Genji had only stopped to pick up some supplies. He had found a few first aid kits in the emergency room and taken them with him.

As soon as he had these first aid kits, he left the hospital and went to a small building immediately north of it. This was the hospital's administration building. Once he was inside, he went to work.

He began by removing his uniform jacket and shirt. Then he unbuckled his belt and removed his pants. All his clothes except his underwear were badly torn up because of the whip. Standing in just his boxers, Genji looked at himself in the mirror. As he suspected, his entire body was covered in deep cuts. He could tell that some of them would ultimately become scars.

Genji just sighed and said to himself "Guess I can't really complain. After all, no one ever walks out of the Program totally unharmed."

After coming to terms with his appearance, Genji began treating his wounds. He started by using some tap water and some disinfectant to clean out his injuries. Most of them still stung to the touch. But he managed to overcome the stinging sensation after working for a while.

Once this was accomplished, Genji took out a few rolls of gauze out of the first aid kits. He swiftly unrolled them and began wrapping up his most severe injuries. The largest gashes were on his legs, stomach, and back. Once he had all of them, he cut the gauze with a pair of medical scissors, tied it in place, and reinforced it with medical tape. He ended up using almost three whole roles of it.

He only used a bit of gauze on his arms and none on his head. However, he still had some cuts on certain parts of his face. Those would become scars for sure. All the same, he cleaned them out with the tap water and disinfectant.

Once he was done, Genji decided to go ahead and get redressed. The uniform suit he had worn from before was ruined, but fortunately for him, he had a spare uniform in his backpack. He was typically prepared for anything, which was one of the reasons why he was the Class President.

As Genji got dressed, he began contemplating a new strategy. Up until this point, he had always used a semi-direct or indirect approach whenever he encountered anyone. His encounter with Hitoshi was entirely direct.

His first direct encounter had left him beaten half to death. Because of this, Genji had decided that he would no longer underestimate anymore of his classmates. Instead, he would return to using a more discreet approach, like when he killed Misaki and Chieko.

At around eleven o'clock, he happened to look out the window of the administration building. He saw Shuuichi, Kenzou, and Naozumi take Daisuke into the hospital. From what he could tell, Shuuichi and Kenzou were both armed with guns.

He decided to wait until they left the building to move in on them. His experience with Hitoshi had encouraged him to be more wary and alert of his classmates. He knew that Shuuichi was an expert in the field of firearms and that Kenzou was one of the best athletes in Class 3-A. Both of them could pose quite a threat with a gun.

He did not feel particularly worried about Naozumi or Daisuke. After all, Naozumi had never harmed anyone in his life, and Daisuke appeared to have been too weak to stand, as Naozumi had been carrying him in his arms. If the two of them came his way, he was confident he would be able to handle them.

However, there was one more thing that crossed Genji's mind: Kotoyo Fukumoto. Hitoshi had died defending her, and now she was out in the city. If she managed to join up with other people, she would most certainly tell them that Genji was playing.

It was then that Genji realized there was a chance that his cover would be blown. If Kotoyo actually did manage to get some allies, word might spread around the city that Genji was participating in the Program. That would destroy his chances of using manipulation and trickery against his classmates.

That was when Genji got an idea. After he put on his spare uniform, he reached into his backpack and pulled out a hooded sweatshirt. Originally, the sweatshirt had been Chieko's. Blaine had given it to her as a gift on her birthday back in June. He had ordered it from America weeks in advance. Chieko initially just took it out of respect, but later she found that she actually liked the sweatshirt. She wore it outside of class frequently.

How the garment came into Genji's possession is a simple matter. One night about a week earlier, Goro had invited some friends over to his house for a sleepover. Genji and Chieko were two of these. Chieko had brought along her sweatshirt, but she took it off before going to bed. She left early the following morning and accidentally forgot to retrieve her sweatshirt. Genji noticed this just before he left and he decided to take the sweatshirt with him.

At school the following Monday, he had told Chieko about the matter. They made plans for him to give her back her sweatshirt on the class trip, as that was the only time when the two of them would be able to meet out of class. One would wonder why Genji did not simply bring the sweatshirt to school. The answer was simple: it was a violation of the rules to bring any clothing that did not comply with the uniform code.

Genji was now glad he had decided to bring the sweatshirt along.

He stepped back up to the mirror and held the sweatshirt over his chest. It was supposed to be a woman's sweatshirt, but it looked as thought it would fit him fine, as it was long and wide enough for his torso. Genji scoffed and remarked "I guess Chieko's rack was bigger than I thought."

Genji raised his arms and pulled it down over his head and shoulders. After he slipped it on, he straightened it out and viewed himself in profile. To his relief, all of his scars – excluding the ones on his face – were concealed by the sweatshirt. Genji drew the hood up over his head, pulled the cords tight, and tied them in a square knot. He could see clearly through the hood, but he could not see his face in the mirror's reflection. Genji was built a little taller and stronger than the average male student in Class 3-A, but not by too much. With that in mind, no one would be able to identify him now.

Genji smirked wickedly behind his hood and went to work packing up his old uniform. He slid his old pants and shirt back into his backpack. Even though they were ruined, he felt they would make fine mementos in the future.

As Genji folded up his torn jacket and put it away, something slipped out of the pocket and landed on the ground with a metallic clinking sound. After zipping his backpack up, Genji leaned down and picked up the tiny object. He quickly realized what it was.

Earlier this morning, he had found Ichiko Murakami dead in G-8. She had a meat cleaver wedged in her face. But that was not what stood out to Genji the most. What really caught his attention was a thin layer of powder lining the front of her blouse. After leaning down and taking a whiff of it, he determined that it was gunpowder. This type of residue could only have been left by firing a gun. However, Ichiko had no bullet hole anywhere.

One more thing had caught his attention: there was a small metal capsule on the ground in front of Ichiko's body. He picked it up and examined it. He quickly realized it was a bullet shell.

After putting two and two together, Genji concluded that Ichiko must have fired the gun in the first place, but whoever killed her must have taken it.

Genji was actually quite familiar with guns. He had grown up surrounded by them. That was one of the reasons why he secretly held his classmates in such low esteem. But more on why he grew up around them later; the time has not yet come to discuss his backstory in detail. All that should be noted is that Genji had a vast knowledge of firearms. With the exception of Shuuichi Kai, he knew more about them than anyone else in the class.

After studying the bullet shell closely, he managed to identify it as a casing of a 7.5mm 882 Ordnance cartridge. These bullets were antiquated; they were Belgian in origin and they had not been used for almost a century. In fact, they had only been used by the Swiss army between 1882 and 1929. Yet somehow, the Japanese government had managed to acquire some of these bullets, as well as a gun that could properly fire them.

Genji arrived at his own conclusion after a few minutes. He reasoned out that he was not the only person playing the game. Another person must have killed Ichiko for her gun.

This encouraged him to stay on his guard. The Swiss army only had a limited number of gun models manufactured in 1882 and 1929. They would be relatively easy for Genji to identify on sight. He decided to keep his eye open for one. Once he managed to find someone carrying one, he would know he had found Ichiko's killer.

Genji was not entirely certain what he would do once he found that person. He might just end up killing him or her the way he killed his first three victims. Or… he might try to form a partnership. After all, if that person was playing, maybe he or she could be useful to him. Only time would tell.

**32 Students Remaining**


	20. A Matter Of Faith

**Note: My apologies for taking so long to update. I've been very busy with midterms. Fortunately, I only have one more scheduled for next week, and then Spring Break for my college is the following week. Hopefully I'll be able to get a lot more posted by then.**

**By the way, just to let you know, this chapter will probably be a little disappointing to some of you. I wrote most of it in the span of two days, as I was determined to make a new post as soon as possible. But I'll try to make the next chapter better.**

**Director Denial, my good sir, I have a question for you. What do you enjoy more about fanfics: Reading them, or critiquing them? I'm not saying I'm getting annoyed or anything by your reviews, but you seem to think there are a great many things I'm doing wrong with my story. While I'm grateful for the feedback, some of the things you mention are just about some trivial details. Granted, I know these chapters are far from perfect, but these are FANFICS, not professional novels. For example, you keep mentioning how Genji is "so bland" and such. You see, there's a REASON I'm not revealing very much about his persona just yet. I want to leave the readers wondering about him; wondering what his motivations and reasons are for playing the game. My idea was to portray as a sort of mysterious individual with a very questionable background. My plan is to reveal his persona bit by bit overtime. **

**Just keep this in mind – the next time a character seems "bland," it's simply for one of two reasons: either they're about to die, or their persona has yet to be revealed.**

**Hope you enjoy reading and "panning" this chapter, my friend.**

A mile east of Genji and the hospital, Blaine Rhodes and his three companions were still in the mayor's office at City Hall. When the noon announcements began, they got out their class lists and maps. They checked off the six names mentioned in the obituary and then they marked the new danger zones.

"Now Goro's dead, too," remarked Kiyomi Takayama (Girl #12). She and Tatsuo Inoue (Boy #2) were very saddened by the passing of another of their goods friends.

"First Chieko, now him," Tatsuo recounted, "Who do you suppose will be next?"

"I don't want to think about that," Yuuga Suzuki (Boy #11) stated, "The body count has already entered into the double digits. Right now I'm still worried about Yuriye. It may only be a matter of time before she's in that sort of danger. After all, as more people die, fewer targets will be left for the ambitious players."

"'Targets?'" stated Blaine, a little disgusted, "That's hardly an appropriate label for our classmates, Yuuga."

"Well, Blaine, that's what we ARE!" Yuuga countered, "In fact, as far as the government's concerned, that's our only purpose in this game. If we will not hunt, we will be hunted. If we are not careful, we will fall victim. I'm certain Goro and the other dozen people who were on the morning and noon obituaries would tell you that."

"I'm amazed you can actually say that with a straight face," Blaine sharply noted, "Thirteen of our classmates are already dead, yet you don't seem to be the least bit distressed."

"You think I don't care they're gone?" Yuuga sharply remarked, "You couldn't be more wrong. Several of them were my friends, too, Blaine. I've known them all for at least two years longer than you have. So don't you tell me what to feel or how I should feel it!"

"How could I?" Blaine asked rhetorically, "You may be an expert at determining other people's emotions, Yuuga, but you sure do a lousy job of conveying them yourself."

"I'm just trying to remain calm and level-headed!" said Yuuga, his voice rising a little, "Yuriye is still out there. Maybe she's alone or in trouble. She's been my best friend for a long time. I'm worried about her. You wouldn't understand Blaine; you've already joined up with your two closest friends. I haven't found **my** closest friend; so naturally, I'm **inclined** to worry for her. But if I let my anxiety get the better of me, I just know I'll crack under pressure."

At this, Blaine jumped to his feet and yelled "Yuuga, pretty much all you've done since you got here is talk about how worried you are about Yuriye. Yet you're not doing a single thing to find her. If you're so concerned about her well-being, then why don't you just go and **look for her**? Why don't you just **leave**?"

There was an unpleasant silence in that room for over a minute. Blaine and Yuuga remained staring each other in the eyes in all that time. Finally, Yuuga broke the silence and said calmly "Yuriye is smart enough not to move around the city when it's still light outside. That's why I'm waiting until night. Aside from that, I've just been staying here because I wanted to work out a plan of my own for exploring the town. I also thought the three of you would like my help for the present. I can see I'm wrong. If you wish, I'll leave immediately."

Yuuga slowly went over to his supply pack and backpack and reached down to pick them up. As he gathered his bags up, Blaine just stood watching him. He had absolutely no idea how to respond. Perhaps it was best for Yuuga to leave before they got into a heated discussion. After all, it was easy for that sort of thing to evolve into a violence, especially in the Program.

Then he felt someone lightly slap his left thigh. Blaine turned his head and looked down at the floor. Kiyomi was sitting on her knees, glaring up at him. She was scowling, as if she was frustrated or angry with him.

They didn't speak, but Blaine could tell what she was thinking. She obviously wanted him to apologize to Yuuga for what he just told him. While Kiyomi was as faithful to Blaine as he was to her, she had taken Yuuga's side in this discussion.

It was then that Blaine recalled all that Yuuga had done earlier that day before the morning announcements. He had found Kiyomi and assisted her when she was wounded. He had tried getting her to the hospital before he met up with Tatsuo outside of City Hall. Blaine knew full well that Yuuga could have killed him in his sleep earlier that morning. But that he did not do. Instead, he brought Kiyomi up to the mayor's office and stood guard while she reunited with her boyfriend.

As all this came back to him, Blaine felt ashamed of himself. Yuuga had already done so much for him and Kiyomi and – apart from shelter at City Hall – had asked for nothing in return. Now Blaine was repaying him by accusing him of being emotionless and indirectly implying that he leave the group.

Before Yuuga could finish gathering his bags up, Blaine walked over to him and softly said "Yuuga?"

The empathic boy looked up at the American out of the corner of his eye and only said "Hmmm?"

Blaine paused a moment to choose his words carefully. Then he told him "I'm… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said what I just said. It was insensitive and uncalled for."

"But did you mean what you said?" inquired Yuuga as he stood up straight.

"No, I most certainly did not," Blaine answered him, "I do not believe you to be a shallow person. Nor do I want you to leave before you wish to. I told you earlier that I trusted you, and that has not changed."

Yuuga smiled and placed his hand on Blaine's shoulder, telling him "I'm glad to hear that, Blaine. I actually thought I may had offended you."

"What?" Blaine said in surprise, "How could you have offended me?"

"Well, you seemed so worked up over my apparent indifference to the casualty list that I began getting that idea," Yuuga pointed out.

"I don't know what came over me," Blaine told him, "I guess at that moment, I was just so upset about the new deaths that I was unable to comprehend how anyone could not be as upset in return. But that's no excuse for my reaction. In fact, if anything, I think I should be handling myself more like you."

"Really?" asked Yuuga.

"Yeah," replied Blaine, "Now that I think about it, it is best if we try to put our emotions aside. That's probably the best way for us to keep our sanity and remain focused on our objectives. If we can do that, we won't be such easy 'targets,' as you put it."

"An excellent idea," Yuuga agreed, dropping his bags back to the floor. He then leaned against the wall in a standing position. He looked away at nothing in particular, as if he was in deep thought. His countenance did not give off any emotion that Blaine could detect. One would even say he looked entirely stoic. However, he clearly had a lot on his mind.

Blaine decided not to bother him. He turned around and walked over to his girlfriend and best friend. Kiyomi was now smiling at him; she was glad he had already made amends with Yuuga. As he sat down on his knees next to her, he smiled in return and wrapped his right arm around her. He held her close as a sign of affection.

As he did this, Blaine turned to Tatsuo. His normally optimistic best friend was not smiling. He was just staring at the wall in front of him. He was not gazing at anything in particular; his mind was just… elsewhere. He seemed distraught or distracted. This started to worry Blaine. He decided to investigate.

"Everything alright, Tatsuo?" he asked his friend.

Tatsuo quickly turned to Blaine and replied "Hmm? Oh, yeah, I'm fine, Blaine. It's just… I was thinking."

"A yen for your thoughts?" Blaine offered. Upon seeing the confused expression on Tatsuo's face, he clarified what he meant: "In America, whenever somebody wants to know what another person is thinking about, they say 'A penny for your thoughts.' Seeing as how a penny is worth one cent and one cent is approximately one yen, I figure this country's version of that would be 'A yen for your thoughts.'"

"Makes sense to me," Tatsuo commented. He scoffed for a moment, but his facial expression quickly became glum again. He turned back to the wall and stared at it for a while. A few moments later, he remarked to Blaine "I supposed you really do want to know what's on my mind?"

"Of course I do," was the American's response.

"Then I'll tell you," Tatsuo thought aloud, keeping his gaze focused on the wall. He sat in silence for a few seconds more. Then he began with "I was thinking… about what could have been."

"What do you mean?" queried Blaine.

"Our class is the sixty-fifth one to be selected for the Program," Tatsuo explained, "I was just thinking about what it must have been like for the students in the sixty-four classes preceding us. That made me wonder: what would it have been like if they survived? What if they continued studying after their compulsory education, or they got jobs after graduation? Maybe they could have done great things with their lives. They could have made great contributions to society. Instead, they all had to die because of some bullshit law."

Tatsuo paused for a moment, and then he continued with "That's what upsets me most about the Program. It's not the fact that students are forced to kill their friends, or that only one of them is allowed to survive. It's that the Program is… a terrible waste of human potential. All the people who died in it were never allowed to make the most of their lives. Even the ones lucky enough to survive never went on to greatness."

For the first time in hours, Blaine was entirely speechless. Tatsuo's words sounded like poetry. They had actually moved him inwardly. Blaine had always admired Tatsuo for his view of the world; he thought of him as the deep-thinking type. Evidently, there really was something of a logician in his best friend.

"Tats… that's very philosophical," Blaine told his friend, "And I find myself agreeing with you entirely."

"I'm glad to know that, Blaine," Tatsuo remarked, "If only there were more people who thought the same way. If there were, we probably wouldn't have wound up here. But we are here, and now Japan will face another loss of human potential. Probably one of the greatest losses ever caused by the Program."

"What do you say that?" asked Blaine.

This time it was Kiyomi who responded. She explained to Blaine "Keio University has a reputation for its gifted student body. It's full of deep-thinkers and logicians. Despite the fact it's a relatively young foundation, it is a very prestigious school. It does not accept just anybody. You have to possess a certain set of qualifications in order to make it in."

"What sort of qualifications?" inquired Blaine.

"You don't know about them?" stated Yuuga, raising an eyebrow in perplexity, "How could you not know?"

"Probably because I was never presented with them," Blaine elucidated, "You see, when I was first accepted into the exchange program, I was not allowed to pick which school to attend. All I did was complete a survey and after some deliberation, I was assigned to Keio University by your government."

"What sort of things were on the survey?" asked Tatsuo.

"Just some questions about my degree plan, my previous academic experience, and several related things," Blaine answered, "After I got my assignment to the University, some of the other exchange students told me I was 'lucky.' They never told me why, though."

"I guess you could say you were lucky at the time," Kiyomi remarked, "Keio University actually ranks in the nation's top fifty high schools. You must have deeply impressed the board of directors to have made it to here."

"Well, even if I was lucky then, look where my 'luck' has landed us now," stated Blaine, gesturing all around them, "We're fighting for our lives against the rest of our classmates. Some of them are probably after me specifically thanks to Furutani's goddamn new rule."

Tatsuo drew his Luger out of his belt and stated "While I can't promise you we'll be alright, Blaine, I can promise you that anyone who tries for you will have me to deal with."

Blaine was very grateful to hear these words. But at the same time, he was still a little amazed that his friend could talk about killing so lightly. Blaine did not want Tatsuo to be forced to kill someone on his account. Of course, Blaine would do the same thing for Tatsuo, Kiyomi, and even Yuuga if anyone tried to harm them. He was really hoping it would be a while before they encountered a player. But if it came down to that… he would fight back.

"Thanks, Tats," Blaine told his friend. He paused for a moment and looked off to the side. He slid his hand into his jacket pocket. He could feel the envelope to the letter he had received from the soldier at the school entrance earlier this morning. As the letter had instructed, he still had not told the others a word about it. But reading it made him wonder about the Program's history. Perhaps more than one person had made it out alive in the end?

"Tell me, has anyone – other than the winner ever survived the Program?" he asked his friends, "Has anyone ever escaped?"

"Actually, yes," Kiyomi answered, "The Program has been known to be ineffectual at times. You'd be surprised to know how many people have made it out alive."

"Really?" said Blaine, "Based on what I've seen so far, I would have thought the government would try to cover up those sorts of things. After all, what sort of totalitarian government would want its civilians to know about its failures?"

"I can see why you'd think that Blaine," Tatsuo interjected, "That might be the case in a communist or fascist society. But in this country, whenever the government fails, they just try to find someone else to pin the blame on. A scapegoat, if you would."

"Well, tell me about the escapees," Blaine requested, "If they got out, there may be hope for us yet."

The three Japanese classmates thought about what they knew of the Program's previous escapees. Before they began telling him of specific instances, they were certain to tell Blaine that escaping the Program was punishable by death in the eyes of the Japanese government. About eighty percent of the people who escaped the Program over the years were killed less than a week afterwards. Another ten percent lasted a month at most before they were apprehended and executed. The remaining ten percent either went into hiding or fled the country.

After telling Blaine about this, Yuuga, Kiyomi, and Tatsuo told him specific examples of previous escapes from the Program.

"Most of the known survivors made it out in the Program's early years," Yuuga began, "This was before the steel necklaces were used. Because of that, there was no deadline for how much time could pass between the killings. The first Program was definitely the longest one; it lasted almost three weeks. However, the second one lasted only a couple days; almost half the students in that class managed to escape."

"The steel necklaces were introduced the following year," stated Tatsuo, "That was the army's first major step in making the Program 'inescapable.' However, the necklaces were far from perfect. At certain ranges, the signals would be blocked and some students found ways to safely remove them. In fact, in the 1950s, the only year where there was only one official survivor was 1954."

"But in 1960, the Program had a technological breakthrough," Kiyomi took over the explanation, "That was when they started using surveillance systems, border guards, tracking devices, and just about everything else. But every couple years, someone managed to make it out alive. Aside from that, the Program still tended to lag on. So in 1970, the danger zones and the time limit were introduced. After that, escaping the Program became almost impossible."

"You say 'almost,'" Blaine noted, "How many people have managed to escape since 1970?"

"Less than a dozen," Kiyomi replied, "In fact, there has only been one successful escape in the past twenty years. Two students managed to make it out alive. Incidentally, they're probably the two most famous escapees ever."

"Who were they?" asked Blaine.

"You may have heard of them," Tatsuo continued for Kiyomi, "They were in the Program of 2000. That was the year Class 2-B of Shiriowa Junior High School was chosen. The survivors were Boy #15, Shuya Nanahara, and Girl #15, Noriko Nakagawa."

"Actually, those names do sound vaguely familiar," Blaine thought aloud, "How did they escape?"

"They had a lot of help from one of their classmates, who happened to survive a previous Program," Tatsuo explained, "I believe his name was Shogo Kawada. The year after he won the Program the first time, he transferred to Shiriowa Junior High School. Get this: he actually got himself back into the Program just so that he could save a few people from it."

"But I thought the school for the Program was randomly selected?" Blaine pointed out, "How could he have known which one would be the one?"

"Simple," Tatsuo replied, "The school is selected weeks in advance electronically. Someone with the right knowledge of computers could slice into the government archives and take whatever they want. They might even do that without exposing themselves. That's exactly what Shogo did."

"He did all this for a couple of strangers?" said Blaine, impressed by such an idea.

"Yes, he did," Yuuga confirmed, "Even at the cost of his own life. He killed the Program instructor and several of the soldiers in the process. Shortly after this, he died of injuries he had gotten earlier in the game."

"What happened to Shuya and Noriko?" queried Blaine.

"No one knows for sure," Kiyomi explained, "My guess is that Shogo managed to set them up with a contact of his for a while. However, there were a lot of rumors going around the Shuya and Noriko had successfully immigrated to America. There they began again."

"I've even heard some theories that they settled down and started a family," Tatsuo added.

Blaine sat rubbing his chin, thinking about all he had been told. Then he asked "Did any of the rumors suggest where in America they arrived?"

"Most suggest they travelled by boat," Yuuga recalled, "So they probably ended up in California."

"That's where I live," Blaine informed them, "I could have sworn I once met a Japanese man named Shuya. But I can't remember the circumstances surrounding the event. Maybe I just met him in passing."

"For all you know, it could have been him!" said Kiyomi.

"Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't," Blaine acknowledged, "If I remember anything more, I'll let you know. But for now, let's focus on what's important. We still have to make certain we can defend ourselves here."

Yuuga went over to the door and opened it up. He commented "You want to get back to work?"

Blaine picked up his shotgun, stood up, and nodded his head. He gripped the strap to his shotgun and said "Let's go."

He and Yuuga went back to the lobby to continue sorting out the crates from the bomb shelter. At the same time, Kiyomi and Tatsuo went back to reorganizing the mayor's office.

Blaine was glad his question had been answered. Escaping the Program was possible after all. Now he had reason to put his faith in the soldier's letter.

…

Jakobe Tanaka (Boy #12) was in G-6, just a mile south of City Hall. He had been roaming around the streets for hours, stopping occasionally to meditate.

After the noon announcements, he had stopped to pray to Buddha for the souls of everyone who died. He did not know any of the six victims very well, but he prayed for them all the same.

He was a little surprised that Hitoshi Ohara was on the list of the dead. Jakobe had liked him for his passive behavior. Buddhism strongly emphasized the importance of nonviolence. Because of this, one would think that Jakobe and Hitoshi would get along very well. However, this was not the case, as Hitoshi had always been an atheist, like most of Class 3-A. Jakobe preferred socializing with people who at least acknowledged the possibility of a higher form of life.

Jakobe stopped again to meditate about a half-hour after he had prayed. He wondered things about his late classmates. He wondered who killed them, how they were killed, and what were the circumstances surrounding their deaths.

Ever since he came across Ichiko Murakami's body earlier that morning, Jakobe had been spending a lot of time contemplating the concept of death. As a Buddhist, he had been raised to believe that death was something to ultimately look forward to. While most people see it as the end of a life, Buddhists see it as the start of a new one. That is not to say that Buddhists approve of suicide and other premature deaths; they condemn such things. However, it is said that the most faithful Buddhists are ready to accept death at any time.

This subject is highly debatable. Jakobe himself was far from certain he was ready for death just yet. While his religion meant more to him than anything, he was still a human teenager. Like all teenagers, he had ambitions for the future. He had plans to do great things with his life. But he always thought his life would be long and prolific. He never thought he would end up in the Program.

Of course, fate is something that no one can manipulate; not even religious fanatics. Jakobe knew this very well. But that did not stop him from wondering all the same.

As he thought about his late classmates, there was one thing Jakobe could not get out of his mind. He wondered what the killers themselves were thinking at the time. He knew that the human desire of survival could be dangerously strong under the right circumstances, but he still wondered how anyone could have willingly decided to participate in the Program. He wondered what had gone through the killers' minds before they decided to take another person's life. Some of them may have gone insane while others may have been willing to play the game from the start. There was also the possibility that some were playing for sport or enjoyment.

Jakobe was concerned that something similar might happen to him. He was hopeful that he would not fall victim to the same madness that hit the killers. While he felt level-headed at the time, he knew it was possible to lose his sanity. And even if he remained sane, there was no guarantee he would be able to avoid turning violent. Every human being has a breaking point. Jakobe had one, and he knew it well. He had reached it once before in his life.

This had happened when he was in the fifth grade. One of his classmates had been making jokes about religion in effort to provoke a reaction out of him. Jakobe was used to this sort of thing; he had ridiculed for his religion all his life. After all, when you live in a totalitarian society, most people are inclined to be atheists. As for those who are not, they become easy targets for jokes.

This had taken place during study hall. Jakobe chose to simply ignore his classmate's taunts and do his work. Eventually, his classmate stopped making jokes said flat out remarked "You know what, Jakobe? Fuck Buddha."

Jakobe had been in the middle of writing a sentence at the time. When he heard those words, his hand froze and his pencil broke in half. About twenty seconds of silence passed before Jakobe turned to his classmate and asked him quietly "What was that?"

His classmate smirked and said "Buddha spent most of his early life in luxury. He was too ignorant to realize the true dangers of life until a friend showed him. Then he was foolish enough to think he could actually put an end to aging, suffering, and death. Not only was he a loon and a fool, but he was a fucking loser! So you know what I say to that? Fuck him!"

A moment later, Jakobe had jumped out of his seat and lunged towards his classmate. He threw him onto the ground and landed on top of him. Then he delivered a multitude of fierce blows onto his face. Even when his other classmates tried to stop him, he did not relent. It ultimately took the combined efforts of five of the class's strongest students to pull Jakobe away.

The other boy ended up having to go to the hospital for almost a week. Once he got out, he never tried getting on Jakobe's nerves ever again. Nor did he ever make another joke about religion.

Jakobe managed to get off with two days' suspension from school. He spent those two days visiting his mentor, Rokuro Higa.

Bhikkhu Rokuro Higa was a monk who lived at the Buddhist temples in Fujisawa. It was one of the few temples in the Kanagawa Prefecture. Bhikkhu Higa was the abbot. He was one of the oldest members of the order, as well as one of the most respected ones. Jakobe had been studying under him ever since he was four years old, as both of his parents had been two of Higa's disciples when they were younger.

Jakobe's father had called Higa in advance to know that he was dropping his son off at the temple and that he would be staying there until the following evening. He was also certain to mention the reasons for Jakobe's visit.

When Jakobe arrived at the temple, he was immediately greeted by the jisha, who led him into the front room of the temple. There, Bhikkhu Higa was waiting for Jakobe. The two of them bowed to each other and then they began meditating together.

About twenty minutes of silence passed before the bhikkhu opened his mouth. The first words he uttered were "Your father tells me you were involved in a fight yesterday."

"That is correct, Master," Jakobe confirmed, a miniscule amount of shame in his voice, "Has he told you the circumstances surrounding the fight?"

"Indeed he has," answered Higa, "But I would prefer to hear it from you."

"As you wish, sir," stated Jakobe. He made certain to choose his words carefully: "One of my classmates has been trying for months to provoke me by making jokes about our religion. While several of them are deeply offensive, I have always managed to ignore him. But yesterday… he said something I could not ignore. Something I could not forgive. He said… well, he said…"

"What did he say, my son?" Higa asked patiently.

Jakobe sighed and responded with "He said a very provocative word synonymous with 'intercourse,' followed by our god's name."

The bhikkhu raised an eyebrow in shock and stated "He said this?"

"Yes, sir," Jakobe answered, "But he didn't just say it once. He insulted Buddha himself over and over before he said the phrase about him again. I could not bring myself to have our god disrespected in such a way. So I lashed out at him and struck him repeatedly in the face. Now he's in the hospital."

"And you are here," Higa added in.

"Yes, sir," Jakobe agreed, "As my father told you, that's why I'm here. I've been suspended from school for today and tomorrow. I wanted to spend that time discussing the incident with you."

"I am glad you came to me, Jakobe-chan," Bhikkhu assured his disciple, "But I cannot say I condone how you handled your classmate."

"I understand, sir," Jakobe told his master, "I know that he probably did not mean what he said and that he probably only said it to irritate me, but I still could not restrain myself. At the time, all I wanted to do was put him in as much pain as possible."

"What would you have done if he insulted you instead?" queried Higa.

"I would have just continued to ignore him," answered Jakobe, "I am certain I can take any insult directed at me. But to hear Buddha's name fouled in such a way… it disgusts me."

"I commend you for trying to uphold Buddha's good name," Higa told him, "You have the correct idea, but the wrong method. Buddha did not gain the respect of his followers through violence. He strove to put an end to all suffering for everyone, even those who saw him as a rival. Buddha did not forcibly convert anyone. He believed everyone is entitled to their own faith, as well as their own opinion of it. For that reason, you cannot let anyone incite a heated response out of you. You must control yourself and react peacefully to any such thing. It would be far better should you decide not to react at all. Do not give your opponent the satisfaction of bothering you."

Jakobe absorbed these words carefully. They held a lot of meaning. His mentor was a very well-educated man, and he always gave the finest advice. This was why Jakobe came to him first whenever he needed guidance.

Jakobe spent the rest of his stay at the temple visiting the other monks. All of them were pleased to have him there. Even at the age of eleven, Jakobe had found his place amongst the order. He prayed with them, meditated with them, and talked with them. He dined with them at every meal. In fact, his seat was right next to Bhikkhu Higa's. Monks always ate in silence, which was alright with Jakobe. He did not have much to talk about at the dinner table.

At around eight o'clock the following night, Jakobe's parents picked him up at the temple. After expressing their gratitude to Bhikkhu Higa for giving Jakobe his time, they took their son home. He went back to school the next day.

Ever since then, Jakobe had never demonstrated any sort of violent behavior towards anyone. It had been a long time since he had even had an aggressive thought.

He hoped it would stay that way. But even the most disciplined mind can be corrupted.

Jakobe had stopped to rest for a bit. This time he was not meditating or praying. But he was still thinking as usual.

He was balancing himself against the wall of a building. He gripped the handle of his golf club in his right hand. He leaned against it and thought about what the future might hold. Jakobe knew that the odds of winning the Program were almost insignificant, especially for people who condemned violence.

If by some miracle he managed to survive the Program, what would happen then? Would Bhikkhu Higa still accept him as his disciple? Would the temple turn its back on him? Would his own parents even want him anymore?

Never had Jakobe faced so much uncertainty in all his life. It unsettled him greatly and made him feel profusely uneasy. The fact that he would not be able to seek his mentor's advice made it even worse for him.

He looked up at the sky and muttered quietly "Merciful Buddha, give me answers to the questions I have. There are things I need to know; things only you can tell me."

There was a long silence as Jakobe looked up to the sky. He knew better than to actually listen for a response, but he liked thinking that Buddha was answering his questions all the same.

A few minutes later, he heard a voice say "Do you really think he's there, Jakobe?"

Jakobe turned his head in the direction of the voice. He came face-to-face with one of his fellow male classmates. This boy was of average height and build, and his hair was black and smooth. He also wore glasses. The glasses alone gave his identity away, as only one boy in Class 3-A wore them. Jakobe was standing directly in front of Michio Ueno (Boy #4).

Michio had his hands buried in his pants pockets. He was standing up tall and straight. There was a smile on his face. It was very different from the bright grin he normally wore. Instead of its usual warmth and friendliness, it seemed to convey feelings of malignance.

There was one more thing that caught Jakobe's attention. There was a long, thin rod extending downwards from the side of Michio's left hip. The top part of the rod was concealed by Michio's jacket. Jakobe started to become a little uneasy.

"What are you doing here, Michio?" he asked suspiciously.

"Just taking a stroll," the other boy responded cheekily, "I've been following you around the city for quite a while."

"Why?" demanded Jakobe.

"I'll tell you in a moment," Michio responded, "You didn't answer my question. Do you believe Buddha is really there? Do you believe he's really listening to you?"

Jakobe did not know how to respond. While he did have doubts about survival, he had never doubted the existence of Buddha. While he respected practitioners of other religions, he had always been confident that Buddhism was the correct religion. His faith had been put to the test many times, and it had always come through for him. Despite other people's claims that Buddha was a myth, Jakobe never yielded to such statements.

"Yes, Michio, I do believe he's there," Jakobe answered simply, "I also believe he can hear my prayers, even if he cannot physically respond to them."

"Your mentor must be proud of you, Jakobe" Michio mockingly remarked, "From what I understand, Buddhists condone passive, nonviolent approaches. Gandhi is a fine example."

"Gandhi was Hindu, not Buddhist, you idiot," Jakobe sharply retorted.

"I know that," stated Michio, "But he had tolerance for people of all religions. Throughout impossible odds, he acquired freedom for India from the British empire and eased the social conflict between Hindus and Muslims. His methods were strictly nonviolent. From what I understand, the Buddhists have a similar approach. Is this true?"

"Yes, it is true," Jakobe answered, keeping his eyes on Michio, "Buddha's goal was to put an end to human suffering. That was the dream he had for humanity. His followers are still trying to find a way to make that dream a reality."

"I see," stated Michio. He took a step forward and said "Now, tell me; do Buddhists believe in rebirth or reincarnation?"

"It depends on why sect of Buddhism one belongs to," Jakobe answers, "While my sect ponders on reincarnation, we strictly believe in rebirth. We hold the view that we'll be reborn into a higher existence of life instead of the same life over and over again."

"All the same, I've heard that death is something that Buddhists look forward to," Michio speculated, "In a way, they seem to have a 'glass-half-full' view of dying. I've heard that whenever death comes around, they willingly accept it. Is this true?"

Jakobe did not know how to respond to this. He could not figure out why Michio was asking him so many odd questions, especially under the given scenario. But he answered them all the same.

"I guess… that is indeed true," Jakobe replied, "To people of my faith, dying is the beginning of the next phase of existence. While we do value our time alive, death is not something we try to avoid. As far as I know, there's never been a case of a dedicated Buddhist who desired immortality or a prolonged lifespan. So in answer to your question… Buddhists are not afraid of dying."

"Are you?" asked Michio.

After a few moments of silence, Jakobe answered with "No… I do not fear death."

As soon as he said those words, the smile on Michio's face expanded even more widely than before. He told Jakobe "That's just what I was hoping you'd say."

After saying this, he took his left hand out of his jacket pocket and used it to pull back the left side of his jacket, revealing the head of the rod hanging from his side. As it turned out, this "rod" was the sheath to a three-foot long samurai sword. Michio had attached the sheath to his belt and hidden the handle to his sword in his jacket. This was what he had received as his weapon.

Michio could not help but scoff when he saw the shocked expression on Jakobe's face. He let go of the left flap of his jacket and tucked it behind the head of his sword. Then he told Jakobe "You asked me a couple minutes earlier why I've been following you. The answer is simple: A good hunter always studies his prey from afar. But I'm done studying now; you'd definitely make an easy catch."

…

Kotoyo Fukumoto (Girl #18) had never felt so much guilt in all her life. Throughout their time at Keio Shonan-Fujisawa Junior High School, she and Hitoshi Ohara had rarely – if ever – interacted with each other. They mostly only knew each other by name and by sight. If not for that, they could almost be classified as complete strangers to each other.

Yet earlier this morning, Hitoshi had gone out of his way to help her. He managed to talk her out of jumping into the river. She had been so ready to take her own life, but Hitoshi had stopped her. What's more, he stopped Genji Nishihara from killing her just a few minutes after.

Now, Hitoshi was gone. Kotoyo was certain beyond a doubt that his death was Genji's doing. She was beginning to deeply regret leaving him to fend off Genji on his own. Even though it had been his wish for her to get to safety, she felt responsible. In a way, she felt that she was the one most responsible for Hitoshi's death; even more so than Genji.

She did not know what to do now. She was not certain what the near future would hold for her.

She looked down at the revolver in her hand. She had never used a gun before in her life. She was used to playing musical instruments instead of instruments of war. She wondered if she could bring herself to deal with such a thing. After all, how does one handle what one knows little about?

One thing was certain. Kotoyo would only use the gun to defend herself and to fend off players like Genji. Despite all the guilt she felt over a classmate's death, she was not about to turn the revolver on her own head. She was **done** with thinking of suicide. Hitoshi had died so that she could live. She was not going to let his efforts be in vain.

She figured the least that she could do to honor Hitoshi's memory would be to try surviving as long as possible. She doubted she would last very long, but she would make an effort to hold out as long as she could. It was Hitoshi would have wanted for her.

In a strange way, she did feel a modicum amount of hope, despite all that had happened so far. Gakuto Yamashita and Toshirou Oosaki had reaffirmed her hope that cooperation with her classmates was still possible.

In the time since Gakuto and Toshirou had come to the supermarket, Kotoyo had had another visitor. Just before the noon announcements, Chiaki Iwasaki (Girl #4) had shown up. A little more than hour before that, she had been hiding in a building a couple blocks down the road. Toshirou and Gakuto had parked their car just outside the building she was hiding in. She had curiously watched them approach the supermarket from a window on the building's second floor. About ten minutes or so later, they had exited with a trolley.

The supermarket was over a hundred meters away, but when Gakuto and Toshirou stepped outside, Chiaki could have sworn she saw a third person at the front entrance. This person did not leave the building, however.

At first, Chiaki had dismissed the thought and returned her attention to Gakuto and Toshirou. She saw that there were four unlabeled crates stacked on the trolley. Gakuto and Toshirou also appeared to be talking with each other. Chiaki's curiosity got the better of her, so she slid up her window just enough to see if she could eavesdrop.

They were not whispering, but they were using their classroom voices. Chiaki managed to make out part of their conversation. She heard the following:

Toshirou: "You think she'll be alright on her own?"

Gakuto: "That's what she told me. All I can do is take her word for it."

Toshirou: "Well, at least we'll know where to find her."

Gakuto: "Unless G-6 becomes a danger zone, of course."

Toshirou: "True. "

Chiaki concluded on her own that her eyes were not playing tricks on her. Another of their classmates was in fact in the supermarket. A female classmate, nonetheless.

Chiaki then watched as Toshirou and Gakuto loaded up the crates and the trolley into the back of their car. As they worked, they conversed some more.

Toshirou: "I'm really hoping you didn't forget anything."

Gakuto: "Not to worry; I checked my list three times over. Everything appears to be accounted for. Just to be safe, I'll check it one more time when we get back to the bar."

Toshirou: "Good idea. By the way, I think I'll go ahead and park right outside the bar when we get back to D-7. Otherwise it'll take too long to get everything inside."

Gakuto: "Sounds fine with me. Just make certain you drive slowly. Otherwise the engine will make too much noise."

Toshirou: "If you say so."

Once they had everything in the car, Toshirou and Gakuto got in the driver's seat and passenger seat respectively. Toshirou hotwired the car into gear and drove off.

Once the car was out of audible range, Chiaki looked back to the supermarket. Based on the dialogue between Gakuto and Toshirou, she knew now that someone else was there. If that someone could have a pleasant conversation with Gakuto Yamashita and Toshirou Oosaki, Chiaki figured that she could as well.

About a half-hour later, Chiaki used her better judgment and decided to investigate the supermarket. Most people would probably not even consider doing such a thing in a life-and-death scenario. Chiaki, however, was more than willing. She was known by many people for her bravery.

One time when she was twelve years old, she and a few of her friends had gone rock-climbing at a gym. Chiaki managed to persuade the instructor to let her try the expert course without any form of support. She wanted no ropes to hold her or any mats on the ground should she fall. She explained that she wanted a little more of a "challenge."

Sure enough, she managed to reach the top of the course without any form of support. Her friends could barely even breathe until she finished. But once she made it, they cheered for her very loudly. The instructor had to climb up to get her back down, but on the way down he congratulated her. She could tell he was relieved that she made it. She could not blame him. After all, if she had slipped, he would have definitely lost his job.

Chiaki figured that if she could face down gravity, she could definitely take a similar risk in the Program.

She gathered up her backpack and supply pack and left the building. As a precaution, she decided to arm herself with her weapon – an iron spearhead. She had seen pictures of spearheads in history books, most of them pertaining to North American natives. While it was something of a relic, Chiaki was just glad it had been polished and sharpened. She could still use it as a weapon.

The supermarket appeared to be deserted when Chiaki first arrived. However, when she neared the produce section, she found a bunch of peanuts scattered across the ground. Several of the ones neared the bathrooms appeared to be mashed, as if someone had stepped on them. Subsequently, Chiaki was inclined to search there first. That was when she met up with Kotoyo.

The musician had been washing her hands at the time. As soon as she was finished, Chiaki moved in. She gave Kotoyo quite a shock at first. Chiaki realized then that Kotoyo was armed with a revolver. She drew it out of her skirt, but she did not point it at Chiaki. First she wanted some assurance that Chiaki was not playing the game. The other girl responded by dropping her spearhead and kicking it towards Kotoyo. Then she explained that she had seen Gakuto and Toshirou arrive in a car and leave in it as well. She insisted that she was there simply because she did not want to be alone. She hoped that Kotoyo would listen to her, as they had been friends since elementary school.

After about ten minutes of skeptical discussion, Chiaki managed to convince Kotoyo that she could be trusted. Kotoyo gave Chiaki back her spearhead and the two walked back out to the front room together.

Immediately after that, the noon announcements began. The two stopped to take down what Furutani told them. After that, Kotoyo told Chiaki everything she knew. She told her about how Hitoshi had saved her, how Genji had shown up armed and ready to kill, and how Hitoshi had fended him off to give Kotoyo time to escape. She also told her everything she had learned from Gakuto and Toshirou. She told her about Gakuto and Toshirou's plan to develop some nitroglycerin and about how Teru had plans to sabotage the Program.

Chiaki was amazed by how much Kotoyo knew. She only wished she had some equally useful information to give her in return. All she knew was that she had seen Yuuga Suzuki near City Hall at about 3:15 that morning.

"I don't suppose you've seen Shizuye, Yuriye, or Tomoe, have you?" asked Chiaki.

Kotoyo knew very well that Chiaki made up a clique with those three girls. She wished could help her in that matter, but she could not.

"I haven't seen anyone all day," Kotoyo told her, "At least no one of our gender. I've encountered Hitoshi, Genji, Toshirou, and Gakuto. All four of them male."

"But based on what you've told me, Genji is the only one that cannot be trusted," Chiaki pointed out, "That's a sign that most of our classmates may still have their heads together."

"I certainly hope so," stated Kotoyo, "If Teru's plan is going to work, we're going to need as many people as possible to get out of this."

"I agree," said Chiaki, "By the way, how much longer were you planning on staying here?"

"Well, the only reason I've stayed here up until this point was because I was waiting for Hitoshi," Kotoyo told her, "I was just considering leaving the supermarket. After all, if Gakuto and Toshirou had hostile intentions, they could have easily overpowered me. Knowing how well-stocked the supermarket is, I'm certain someone else will come by it eventually. So it would probably be wise to find another hideout out soon."

"What about City Hall?" suggested Chiaki, "It could be possible that Yuuga is still there, even though it's been nine hours since last I saw him."

"You're sure he can be trusted?" Kotoyo inquired.

"Yes, absolutely," answered Chiaki, "I've known him for a very long time. He's a good guy. Plus, he's best friends with Yuriye. I'm certain he'd be more than willing to help me look for her."

"Sounds good to me," stated Kotoyo, "However, I'd recommend that we draw up a plan first. We need to decide what would be the best route to take before we leave."

Chiaki agreed to this arrangement. The two of them got out their maps and looked over all the possible routes from the supermarket in H-6 to City Hall in F-6. That was just two miles north, but a lot of the area in-between was out in the open. The two girls would have to be careful if they wanted to remain unnoticed.

Just a mile north of their position, the Program's first skirmish of the afternoon was about to commence.

…

In G-6, Jakobe Tanaka was still standing face-to-face with Michio Ueno. The smirk on Michio's face had not faltered in the slightest. However, Jakobe as not focused on Michio's face. He was focused on what was strapped to his classmate's belt.

"You like it?" Michio stated cheekily, resting his left hand on the handle of his sword, "I took a moment to study it earlier. It's pure steel. While my knowledge of swords is limited, I can safely say that this beauty could cut through bone and flesh like paper."

"How would you know?" Jakobe uttered quietly.

Michio pulled his right hand out of his pocket and pulled back his sleeve. Part of his forearm was wrapped in a towel. There was a tint of red to it.

"I tested it on my forearm a little earlier," Michio enlightened his classmate, "I know what you're thinking. No, my hand did not slip, nor did the blade. I had to make certain the blade was sharp enough for use, and the only person available was myself."

"You mean that wound is self-inflicted?" Jakobe breathed out in shock.

"Yes, I cut myself to ensure that I had an effective weapon," Michio confirmed, "I know that concept must be hard for you to grasp, seeing as how Buddhists always emphasize the importance of 'nonviolence' and 'respecting the body as a temple.'"

"Yes, I **am **surprised," Jakobe answered, "I would be alarmed if anyone in our class cut himself or herself. But you, Michio? You of all people doing that? You're not a self-destructive person."

Michio chuckled, saying "I know that. I live by a simple policy, Jakobe: Carpe diem, seize the day. I'm certain you are familiar with that saying."

"Wasn't it in that 1989 American film?" stated Jakobe, "Dead Poet's Society, I believe it was?"

"Correct, that's the one," Michio replied, keeping his left hand on his sword, "It's one of the few movies from America that our government has not outlawed. I've always wondered why that was the case until I saw it. It's a really inspirational film. While it encourages teenagers to make the most of their lives, it also upholds the authority of the previous generation."

"It certainly sounds like the kind of movie our government would like to promote," Jakobe commented drily.

"Indeed," Michio remarked, "I first watched that movie when I was ten. I've been 'seizing the day' ever since then. But in this scenario, you know what seizing the day involves?"

"What?" was all Jakobe could say.

"It involves fighting for survival to live until the next day," Michio answered bluntly. He paused for a moment there. Then he slipped off his backpack and supply pack. After this, he moved his right hand over to the hilt of his sword. He thought aloud "I do believe I have droned on enough."

Jakobe's attention returned to Michio's weapon. The Buddhist still tried to reason with his classmate. He started with "Michio, I do not wish to fight you."

"That's fine by me," Michio retorted, "That would just make you an even easier kill."

"We don't have to do this," Jakobe insisted desperately.

"If you honestly believe that, you know nothing of the world," was Michio's response, "I expected a more realistic viewpoint from a Buddhist."

"What's realistic about killing each other because of some sick game our government invented?" Jakobe countered.

"The prize of winning the game is our lives," Michio pointed out, "And that's fine by me. Now enough words."

With one move of his arm, Michio drew his sword out of his belt. He raised it in the air until it was parallel to the rest of his body. Then he slowly lowered it towards Jakobe.

"It'll be over more quickly if you just accept it," Michio assured him, "If you don't move, I'll make it as painless as possible."

Jakobe was backed up against a wall; Michio had him pinned down. He felt like an animal caught in a trap.

At that moment, Jakobe set his nonviolent ideals aside. His primal instincts for survival took over. After dropping both his supply pack and backpack to the ground, he raised his golf club into the air and held onto the handle with both hands. He muttered through gritted teeth "Get back. Stay the hell back!"

Michio's smirk faded momentarily, but it returned a few seconds later. "Well, looks like you've got some balls after all."

"Michio, I don't want to hurt you," Jakobe told his classmate, "But I **will **use this if you try anything."

"You think you can scare me like that?" stated Michio, "What's your driver against my samurai sword?"

"Even a sword like that can't cut through thick metal," Jakobe pointed out, holding up his golf club, "I'd just need one good swing of this thing and I could smash that blade to bits."

"You willing to bet your life on that claim?" inquired Michio.

"Just try me," Jakobe answered menacingly.

Michio remained grinning. He removed his left hand from the handle of his sword and lifted it up to his glasses. He straightened them out a little and then returned his hand to his sword. He raised his sword again and said "Gladly."

Then he charged towards Jakobe, waving his sword at his neck. The Buddhist barely even had enough time to react. However, he did manage to lift his golf club and block the blow just in the nick of time.

The two boys glared each other in the eye. They were separated only by their weapons.

A moment later, Michio jumped back and lowered his sword. He grunted in frustration and said "I can see you won't make this easy for me, Jakobe. You're just prolonging the inevitable."

"You shouldn't underestimate me, Michio," Jakobe warned his classmate, "I may be passive, but I know how to defend myself."

Michio charged towards Jakobe again, swinging his sword. Jakobe managed to parry this blow, too.

Over the next couple minutes, the two boys dueled with their weapons. Most of the offensive moves were made by Michio while Jakobe made most of the defensive moves. It was obvious that neither of the boys were very experienced in the field of close-hand combat. But they were both equally determined to emerge victorious from this fight.

Michio was amazed by how flexible Jakobe was. For a person who spent a great deal of time meditating, he had pristine reflexes.

Jakobe fought back with all the force he could muster. Every now and then, he spotted a weakness in Michio's tactics. He tried exploiting them as best he could. His goal was to wear Michio down until he was on the verge of exhaustion. If he could do that, it would be possible for him to have enough time to make a getaway while Michio stopped to regain his breath.

But as they dueled, Jakobe quickly realized that wearing Michio down would not be easy. Michio was easily the more physically active of the two. While he was not an athlete, he was very durable.

About four minutes after the duel began, one of them drew blood. Michio slashed at Jakobe's thigh, grazing his side. Jakobe shouted in pain and gripped his thigh with his left hand. He momentarily let his guard down. Michio raised his sword again and prepared to strike him.

But before he could strike, Jakobe recovered from his injury and swung his golf club at Michio's torso. He hit him right in the stomach. Michio gasped from the impact of the club and stumbled backwards. Jakobe took this opportunity to strike Michio again; this time on the throat. Michio groaned in pain and dropped to the ground. He landed flat on his side and did not move.

Jakobe watched Michio closely. At first glance, he appeared to be unconscious. Jakobe was partly inclined to just leave him as he was. But his conscience was telling him to take a closer look. Even though Michio had started the duel, Jakobe's Buddhist compassion suggested that he check him out.

Jakobe tentatively approached Michio and used his foot to turn him onto his back. Michio still did not move. Jakobe became a little concerned that something was wrong. He kneeled down and looked more closely. His attention was focused on Michio's face. Had it been focused on his torso, he would have seen the fingers on Michio's right hand close on his sword again.

A moment later, Michio's eyes shot open, and his wicked grin returned. Before Jakobe had time to react, Michio picked up his sword and thrust it upwards. The blade went straight through Jakobe's chest and impaled him.

Jakobe was immediately overcome with searing pain. It all happened so suddenly that he could feel his breath leave him. Michio had just played possum on him to draw him in.

Michio remained smirking and said "Don't be so down, Jakobe. Buddha is waiting for you."

Jakobe thought about these words. While it occurred to him Michio was probably just being sarcastic, he still believed he was right.

In the span of just a few seconds, everything Jakobe had learned as a Buddhist flashed before his mind. Buddha had once been a mortal man just like him once. He wanted to end suffering, but on his path to achieve this goal, he had suffered in more ways than one. Like all men, he had made enemies before he had grown old and died. But he had forgiven these enemies for all they had done to them. They were not really evil people; they had just been corrupted by evil forced.

Jakobe looked down at Michio. In that same manner, he did not think Michio was an evil person. But he had been corrupted. That much Jakobe was certain about.

Jakobe wanted to use his dying breath to make certain that Michio would not corrupt anyone else. He did not have enough left in him to kill Michio, but he could certainly try to cripple him.

Jakobe spat out a bit of blood and whispered "Buddha, give me… the strength… to do what must be done."

Michio looked confused by these words. He remained on the ground, holding on the handle of his sword.

A moment later, Jakobe slowly raised his golf club into the air. Michio could only stare in alarm. Theoretically, Jakobe should not have even had enough strength left to move, let alone lift a heavy object.

Jakobe did not quite understand either. But a moment later, a theory came to him: Buddha must have granted his wish and given him strength. In actuality, he was probably just getting the strength from somewhere in his subconscious. Regardless of where he got it from, he planned to use it.

When Jakobe had his arm raised all the way over his head, he swung it downwards. He ended up hitting Michio directly on the knee.

The sound of bone splitting penetrated the quiet atmosphere a moment later. It was quickly followed by Michio shrieking in pain. He let go of his sword and grasped his knee with both hands.

Jakobe had been standing at a very odd angle for the past couple minutes. While the pain in his chest was unbearable, he knew it would be gone soon. He looked up to the sky and said "Thank you."

Then he collapsed onto his side, the sword still protruding from his chest.

Michio was hollering in pain for quite a while after this. Jakobe had virtually shattered the joint in his knee when he struck him.

"Son of a bitch!" he yelled, turning himself towards Jakobe's body, "I oughta-"

He thought about how he could finish that sentence. But any threat he might make would be meaningless, as Jakobe was already gone. Michio was alone now.

He had emerged from the fight victorious, but crippled. With great difficulty, he managed to pull himself to his feet, but his left leg was practically useless now. It took a considerable amount of effort just to balance his weight on both feet.

He looked down at Jakobe's body angrily. He leaned down and slowly pulled out his sword. The center of the blade was stained with blood. Michio gave no thought to wiping it clean at that time. He just slid it back into its sheath. With great difficulty, he managed to gather up his backpack and supply pack off the ground.

He decided to get out of the streets and find some shelter before doing anything else. After gazing down at Jakobe's body on last time, Michio turned away and limped off back towards the east.

Just a few minutes earlier, his first priority had been to play to win. Now his first priority was treating his knee.

**Boy #12 Jakobe Tanaka – Dead**

**31 Students Remaining**


	21. Ulterior Motives

Kenzou Iwamoto (Boy #3) was very pleased with his work. In the span of one hour, he had extracted a bullet from a fellow classmate's chest cavity without any prior experience on how to perform an operation. He had also managed to sew up the injury in under two hours. Daisuke Araki (Boy #1) looked almost as good as new.

While the operation was successful, it was still far from perfect. Kenzou had made his fair share of mistakes along the way. On the bright side, most of them were minute; none of them were extremely life-threatening. But they were still noteworthy.

One thing that had slipped his mind during the operation was just how much blood Daisuke had lost due to the bullet and the surgery itself. Kenzou had not realized this until he saw that Daisuke was turning a little pale. He needed to have a transfusion to stabilize his red blood cell count.

Fortunately, Kenzou had noticed this before he had sewn up the injury. Because of that, they would still be able to make the transfusion. But it needed to be made quickly, otherwise Daisuke would pass out or worse.

"Perhaps we should check the hospital's blood banks," suggested Naozumi Matsuno (Boy #20), "Aren't they supposed to have a large quantity of blood in reserve in preparation for things like this?"

"Under normal conditions, they do," Kenzou confirmed, "But hospitals have certain regulations for emergency situations. Whenever there's a city-wide evacuation, the blood banks are either drained or disposed of."

"Then I guess that leaves us with only one option," Shuuichi Kai (Boy #7) thought aloud, leaning back against the counter, "One of us will have to make a donation."

"I guess Shuuichi's right," Naozumi agreed, sitting up in his chair, "I'll be happy to give some of my blood."

"That's very noble of you, Naozumi," commented Kenzou, "But first, we need to know if your blood is compatible with Daisuke's."

He then turned to Daisuke and asked him "Do you know your blood type?"

"Yeah, it's type B-," Daisuke answered softly. He was still lying down on the bed with an open injury. This injury was covered only by a towel pressed against his chest.

"Damn, that may limit our options," said Kenzou, "Other than B-, there is only one blood type from donors that is compatible with B- for the recipient: Type O-."

"My blood is type O-," Shuuichi interjected, standing up straight.

"That's good to know," Kenzou stated in a bit of relief. He turned to the largest boy in the group and asked him "What about you, Naozumi?"

"My blood type is AB+," Naozumi admitted glumly.

"That's unfortunate," Kenzou remarked, "Type AB+ can receive any other blood type, but the only people it can service in a donation are people who also have Type AB+."

"What about you, Kenzou?" inquired Daisuke, "What's your blood type?"

"Type A+, I'm afraid," replied the athlete, "My blood isn't compatible with yours, regardless of who the donor would be. Looks like we'll have to rely solely on Shuuichi for the transfusion."

At that, Kenzou turned to the gun enthusiast and asked him "Do you think you're up to it?"

Shuuichi lightly shrugged and said "I don't see why not. How much blood do you think you'll need?"

"Based on the hue of Daisuke's skin and on what we saw, I'd say about two pints," Kenzou thought aloud, "However, you should know that the human body has about ten pints of blood total at any time. In typical blood drives, donors give a pint of it at most. But even giving just a pint of blood can make one feel extremely lightheaded and queasy. The side effects would be more severe if a donor was to give an additional pint."

"That I can understand," Shuuichi remarked calmly, "As long as I regain my coordination in time, I'll be alright with that. There is just one thing I want to know: do you know what you're doing?"

"I've actually asked myself that quite a few times," Kenzou enlightened his friends, "But as long as I focus, I've convinced that I do know. Coach Urabe trained me how to use needles and everything else in the basics of medicine. You could almost say I was the rugby team's stand-in paramedic. So in answer to your question, yes, Shuuichi; I know what I'm doing. "

Shuuichi looked off to the side and thought about this. In all his life, he had never been afraid of needles or anything else that was used in a hospital. He did not like the side effects of donating blood, particularly the feelings of lightheadedness. However, if it meant helping Daisuke, he'd be willing to put up with that sensation for a while.

While Kenzou was not a professional, Shuuichi was certain that he was definitely competent. After all, he had just removed a bullet from Daisuke's chest without doing any additional damage to his body. If he could do that, Kenzou could easily handle a blood transfusion. He had also proven to Shuuichi that he cared for the well-being of his classmates, even under the extremes of the Program. Shuuichi was confident that he could put his trust in Kenzou.

Over the course of the next forty minutes, Kenzou got quite a lot accomplished. First, he got two pints' worth of blood from Shuuichi to stabilize Daisuke's red blood cell count. He ended up needing to prick both of Shuuichi's arms, but all that mattered was that he had enough. After getting the blood, he used another IV to slowly integrate Shuuichi's blood into Daisuke's veins. It was a long and somewhat tedious process, but Kenzou made certain he got it done properly.

After this, he found the proper equipment to stitch up Daisuke's wound. All he needed was a few thin needles, some thin wire, and a few other things. He asked Naozumi to hold Daisuke down again while he did this to ensure that his "patient" would not move, as one single twitch could have easily thrown off the whole process.

It would have been a little simpler if Shuuichi had helped Naozumi hold down Daisuke, but as Kenzou had predicted, Shuuichi was feeling very groggy from his blood donation. At that moment, he was in no condition to overexert himself in any manner. Kenzou insisted that Shuuichi just sit down and recover while he and Naozumi worked.

Ultimately, Kenzou managed to stitch up every part of the bullet hole in Daisuke's chest, including the incisions he had made to extract the bullet. It was an even longer and much more complicated process than the blood transfusion, but Kenzou's efforts pulled through.

When Kenzou was finally done, he took off his Latex gloves and tossed them off to the side. All that was left was to bandage Daisuke's chest. For this, he retrieved a roll of gauze and medical tape from another cabinet. While Naozumi helped Daisuke sit up, Kenzou wrapped the gauze several times around the wounded boy's torso. Then he fastened it in place with the medical tape.

"That should do it," Kenzou told the others as he started putting everything away.

The room was left in silence for a while as he worked. It was Naozumi who ultimately broke it. He asked to no one in particular "What happens now?"

"Now, we just hope that I did everything right," Kenzou answered straightforwardly, "Keep in mind, this was my first time handling something as fatal as a bullet wound."

"There's just one thing I want to know," Daisuke stated as he weakly turned to Kenzou, "How long until I can walk again?"

"Well, you definitely won't be able to walk without keeling over for at least the next few hours," Kenzou informed him, "While I'm no expert on injuries inflicted by bullets, there's no way you'd be able to walk without hurting yourself for a good long time. Even with proper and professional treatment, that prognosis would be the same."

"So basically, you're saying I'm not going anywhere?" Daisuke enquried.

"You could get around in a wheelchair or that bed, seeing as it's movable" Kenzou responded, "But at the moment, that's out of the question. So you should probably think of yourself confined to that bed until further notice."

Daisuke sighed in frustration and commented "I was afraid of that."

Naozumi reentered the conversation by saying "There's one exception to that rule, Kenzou: the danger zones. What if this place is scheduled to become forbidden after the evening announcements? Or any other announcement? What then? We sure as hell can't stay here."

"The danger zones are randomly selected," Kenzou reminded the large boy, "The odds that F-5 would be picked out are very unlikely."

"But it can still happen," Shuuichi pointed out, trying hard to sit up straight, "Don't forget we were already in a future danger zone this morning. If it happened once, it could certainly happen again."

"And if it does happen, I'm not leaving my best friend behind," Naozumi firmly declared, placing his hand on Daisuke's shoulder, "We'd have to move him to safety somehow."

"I guess you're right," Kenzou concurred, "Perhaps we should contemplate another hideout in the event that the hospital may get selected."

"Any ideas?" asked Daisuke.

"I'll check the map," Kenzou told his companions. He walked over to his supply pack and dug out his map. After studying it for a while, he announced "We could always go back to the apartment complex."

"That's a little too far," Shuuichi concluded. He was still a little dizzy from the blood donation, so he had to struggle to think straight, "There's three miles between us and the western complex. The eastern complex is even further away at four miles. So for the moment, I'd recommend someplace closer."

"Alright," said Kenzou, as he went back to studying his map. A few moments later, he said "We could always try the fire department in E-6. I'll bet no one's thought of going there just yet."

"Sounds fine to me," remarked Naozumi.

"Then it's settled," Kenzou decided, "If F-5 goes forbidden, we'll move to the fire department in E-6."

"Okay," stated Shuuichi, "But there's just one problem: What if it turns out someone **is **there? Someone with less than favorable intentions?"

"Shuuichi's right," said Daisuke, struggling to sit up a little, "The four of us were lucky enough to survive that ordeal with the sniper. Tsukasa wasn't as lucky. If I hadn't gotten shot, we wouldn't have even had to come here. I don't know about you guys, but I don't want to risk another encounter."

After thinking about this for a bit, Kenzou suggested "Maybe one of us should scout ahead. You know, just to make certain the fire department's deserted."

"That sounds like a reasonable plan," said Naozumi, "Who should go?"

"If no one's got any objections, I'll do it," Kenzou offered, "I can get around the city easily enough on my own."

"Kenzou, under the circumstances, I don't think any of us should be travelling solo," Shuuichi interposed. With a little difficulty, he sat up straight and announced "I'm coming with you."

"Are you certain of that, Shuuichi?" inquired Kenzou, "You've just donated two pints of blood. You wouldn't be much better off out there than Daisuke."

"Don't forget, I'm still the best with guns," Shuuichi reminded the jock, pulling his handgun out of his belt, "I may be a little dizzy, but I can still watch your back. Besides, we can't ask Naozumi to leave Daisuke. He spent the better part of this morning looked for him by himself."

"Thank you, Shuuichi" said Naozumi, giving a slight grin.

"No problem," was the other boy's response.

Kenzou quickly became convinced that he could trust Shuuichi to watch his back for him. He agreed to let him accompany him.

Before they left, Kenzou gave Naozumi two things. The first was a set of directions on what to do should Daisuke's pain resurface. He told Naozumi that the best thing to do would be to give Daisuke another shot of morphine to ease the pain. He made certain to demonstrate on how to properly administer a morphine injection into both the IV and Daisuke's arm.

The second thing Kenzou gave Naozumi was Tsukasa's Winchester rifle. Naozumi was a little hesitant to accept the gun, arguing that Kenzou would need it more than him. Kenzou assured him that he would be fine without it. After all, he still had his Taser, and Shuuichi had his handgun. Kenzou also pointed out that the only other weapon Daisuke and Naozumi had was the latter's tomahawk. They would certainly need more than that if they had to defend themselves from another player.

In the end, Naozumi agreed to take the rifle. Kenzou also left him Tsukasa's supply pack, which contained extra magazines, ammunition cases, and the instructions on how to operate the Winchester.

Once everything was in order, Kenzou and Shuuichi left the hospital, leaving Daisuke in the care of his best friend.

As Kenzou and Shuuichi headed off to the east, they made certain to carefully examine the path ahead, as well as the paths to the side. However, they did not check the path behind them. If they had, they would have seen a hooded figure step out of the administration building with a submachine gun in tow.

…

Back at the bar in D-7, Osamu Sano (Boy #9) and his friends were focused on accomplishing their objectives. However, some of them had different objectives in mind, and the only two who were actually working on theirs were Gakuto Yamashita (Boy #21) and Toshirou Oosaki (Boy #5).

Toshirou and Gakuto were primarily concerned with creating the nitroglycerin. In the past few hours, they had managed to come a long way in developing it.

Making nitroglycerin was a multi-stage process that required careful attention to detail. The first stage involved extracting the glycerin from the soap. This process was fairly complicated, but Gakuto's knowledge of chemistry proved to be very useful.

He started this process by opening one of the crates of soap, removing a dozen bars, and breaking them up into very small pieces. He used his hands to manage this, as soap was difficult to cut through with a knife. After he did this, he placed the soap chunks in a bowl containing several bottles' worth of alcohol from the bar and let the soap soak. While he did this, he had Toshirou put together equal proportions of salt and clean water in a large pot. Then he placed the pot on a hotplate and put it over high heat.

By the time Gakuto finished breaking up the twelve bars, the salt water was at a boil. Gakuto carefully added the chunks of alcohol-soaked soap to the mixture one at a time. The soap remained floating on the surface on the water. After a few minutes, the soap began to curdle. Gaktuo knew this was a sign that the glycerin was starting to dissolve in the water.

After about twenty minutes, the soap curds had turned soft and easily breakable. This indicated that the soap had given up as much glycerin as it possibly could. Once this occurred, Gakuto used a ladle to remove the curds from the surface of the liquid. All that remained in the pot was a solution of glycerin, soap, and water.

Gakuto explained that they needed to boil off the water next. They could have done this in the pot they had been using at the time, but that would have taken an extremely long amount of time. In order to save some time, they got some more hotplates and a bunch of smaller pots. They distributed the mixture evenly amongst the pots and put them all over high heat.

While Toshirou kept an eye on the pots, Gakuto went to work preparing for the next phase of creating nitroglycerin. For this, he needed to heat a certain amount of both nitric acid and sulfuric acid. For these, he did not use pots or hotplates. He knew very well that the only safe way to heat acids was over an open flame. So he kept the acids in their flasks and heated them over a pair of Bunsen burners.

Because Bunsen burners were gas-operated, finding a power source for them proved to be a little difficult. He asked the other members of his group to look around the room for anything that might have been a natural gas switch. A few minutes later, Reika Fujihara (Girl #19) found two gas valves underneath the counter of the bar. After she told Gakuto about them, he hooked up the Bunsen burners to these valves with a pair of rubber tubes. After getting a flame on both burners, he hooked up the flasks of sulfuric acid and nitric acid to the stands above the flames.

Gakuto kept his attention on the acids as they heated. He asked Kaminari Ishida (Girl #2) to keep an eye on them whenever Toshirou announced that all the water had boiled out of one of the pots. She agreed, albeit somewhat reluctantly.

Once all the water boiled out of one of the pots, Gakuto would help Toshirou separate the salt from the glycerin in that pot. For this, Toshirou would hold a strainer above a large glass bowl while Gakuto would slowly pour the remaining mixture into the strainer. The glycerin would easily flow through the strainer while the salt remained behind. After all the glycerin had been strained out, Toshirou would throw the salt away, as they did not need it anymore.

After all the pots had been emptied, Gakuto had Toshirou turn off all the hotplates and set them aside. They had plenty of glycerin for the present. Now they were entering the next and most critical phase: making the nitroglycerin itself.

The glycerin extraction was the easy part, as glycerin by itself is not dangerous. Creating nitroglycerin was much more difficult and much more dangerous. Any number of things could go wrong. But Gakuto and Toshirou were willing to take the risks. However, before going on any further, they both donned protective goggles as a precaution.

Gakuto kept a close eye on the acids as they heated over the Bunsen burners. As soon as he saw a tint of red smoke rising from the nitric acid, he used a pair of tongs to remove the flask from heat. He carefully moved the flask to another table and transferred a small percentage of the contents into a beaker.

As Gakuto returned the flask to the Bunsen burner, Toshirou took a stainless steel bowl and filled it with water and ice. Gakuto then used the tongs to pick up the beaker and slowly lower it into the ice bath. Then he allowed it to cool below room temperature.

Once the nitric acid was cooled, Gakuto used his tongs to remove the flask of sulfuric acid from its Bunsen burner. He carried the flask of sulfuric acid across the room to the bowl of ice water. The beaker of nitric acid was still resting in the center of the bowl. Gakuto carefully added the fuming sulfuric acid to the nitric acid until they had a 3:1 ratio. He poured very slowly and carefully to avoid splattering.

Once the two acids were mixed, Gakuto explained that they needed to lower the mixture's temperature further. He had Toshirou use a mercury-operated thermometer to measure the acid's current temperature. To speed up the process a little, Gakuto began adding more ice to the bowl. As he did this, Toshirou notified him every time the temperature went down one degree. After the temperature dropped five degrees, Gakuto stopped adding ice, as the bowl was close to overflowing. They still needed for the mixture to drop another ten degrees before moving on to the next step.

By two o'clock, this was how far they had gotten. Now they were waiting for the acid solution to cool to the desired temperature. They could not speed this up any more than they already had.

Osamu and Kazumitsu Hayashi (Boy #16) had been watching them for quite a while. After a few minutes of apparent inactivity, Osamu asked them "Anything wrong?"

"Nope, we're just waiting for the acid mixture to cool below 30 degrees centigrade," Gakuto responded, "Then comes the **really **hard part: incorporating the glycerin into the acids. It'll need to be added drop by drop using a medicine dropper. This is the most important step of the entire procedure; it is where the nitration process begins."

"Why does the glycerin need to be added drop by drop?" inquired Osamu.

"Because any number of things can go wrong if it is added too quickly," explained Gakuto, "Our biggest concern would be that the temperature might rise too quickly in under a few seconds. If that was to happen, the solution would literally blow up in my face."

Kaminari and Reika both winced in disgust when he said this. Osamu leaned back against his chair and said "So, there's no speeding this up?"

"Correct," Gakuto confirmed, "This is one part of the procedure that cannot be rushed. It has to be handled with even more care than the previous steps."

Osamu sighed and leaned back against the wall. While he was glad that Toshirou and Gakuto were making great progress with the nitroglycerin, he was starting to become a little stressed. However, he did a good job of masking his nervousness. His first objective was to find a way to keep his friends safe and – if possible – get them all out of the Program alive.

In order to do this, the group would need more and better weapons. This was why he was so eager for the nitroglycerin to be finished. While he did not know when or how they would use it, he still wanted to have it on hand in case they encountered any threats.

He looked across the room at Reika. He had caught her staring at him several times. Every time he did, she quickly looked away. He could tell that she was trying to avoid his gaze. However, she was doing this for a good reason: she did not want the others to know about her new relationship with Osamu just yet. Truthfully, he did not want them to know either. But the others would have to be told eventually.

Reika's first objective was a little different from Osamu's, but much more similar to his than Gakuto or Toshirou's. Her first objective was to find some way to keep both herself and Osamu safe from the entire class. This included the other members of their group. She was hopeful that Teru Machida's plan would work. But if it did not, only two people would still be allowed to survive the Program. If it came down to that and Reika had to choose among her five friends, she would easily pick Osamu. All the same, she hoped it would not come down to that.

However, she was just as eager as Osamu for the nitroglycerin to be finished. She turned to Gakuto and Toshirou and asked them "How many more steps will there be after this?"

"Including the glycerin-adding one, six," answered Toshirou, gazing at the instruction sheet.

"How much time do you think you'll need?" inquired Osamu.

"Hard to say for certain," answered Gakuto, "It'll all depend on the chemicals themselves. We'll need at least another hour. Maybe two. At the very least, it should be done by the evening announcements."

"I'm glad to know that," remarked Osamu, "Because something just occurred to me."

"What's that?" asked Toshirou.

"Well, suppose D-7 was selected as a danger zone," Osamu theorized, "If that was to happen, we'd need to get out of this area as soon as possible. How would we transport the nitroglycerin? Would we even be able to move it around the city?"

"Of course we would, Osamu," answered Gakuto, "You think I'd waste time developing weapons that could not be shipped? No, sir; that would be a waste of valuable time and resources."

"How would you suggest we move it?" queried Osamu.

"The trolley might be the best way," said Gakuto, "It can stay level with the pavement and we would not have to worry about hitting any potholes, bumps, or rough terrain too hard."

"At the very least, it would be a much better option than the car," Toshirou added.

Gakuto scoffed and commented "True."

Osamu abruptly stood up straight and proclaimed "Shit, I forgot all about the car! Is it still parked right outside the bar?"

"Unless someone else decided to 'borrow' it, I'm certain it is," replied Toshirou, "I parked it there myself."

"Do you think you could take a moment to move the car a couple blocks away?" Osamu requested.

"I would advise against that," stated Gakuto, "As soon as the acid solution drops to the right temperature, we'll need to move on to the next step. I'll need Toshirou here to help me at the exact time that happens. If it happens and he's not here to assist me, the entire procedure could be thrown off."

"Alright," Osamu nodded in understanding. He stood up from his chair and announced as he approached the door "In that case, I'll move the car on my own. After all, I was the one who found it in the first place"

"Just a moment, Osamu," Toshirou interposed, "There's something you should know. I meant to tell you this a little earlier, but it slipped my mind. So I'll tell you now. We've been driving that thing around the city all morning long. Because of that, the gas tank is dangerously low. It's not going to be of use much longer unless we find it some more gas."

Osamu did not respond right away. He just stared down at Toshirou for a few moments, as if contemplating his response. Then he stated "While I would have preferred to have known that a little sooner, I'm still glad you told me all the same, Toshirou. Now that I do know, we should probably focus on getting some gas as soon as possible. If we need to make a quick getaway, we'll need the tank to be full."

"I think I saw a gas station somewhere when I looked over my map a little earlier," Kaminari thought aloud. She picked up her supply pack, opened it up, took out her map, and looked it over. After examining the map, she announced "Looks like I was right; there's a gas station in F-4. If we're lucky, there might be some gas there."

"You're certain there isn't any place closer?" enquired Osamu.

"Yes, I would have spotted t by now," Kaminari replied, "I'm guessing this city's inhabitants weren't big on motorized transportation."

"That would certainly explain why there's only one gas station and why the only car we've seen this morning is the one we've been using," commented Toshirou.

"For an urban area, this city's pretty green," Reika joked.

"If the only gas station is in F-4, someone will have to take the car and get it some gas," Osamu decided. He looked around the room at his friends and told them "We don't have to do it now, but we probably should do it soon. Anyone want to volunteer?"

Immediately, Kazumitsu's eyes lit up. All this talk about the gas station began forming an idea in his mind. He stepped forward and placed his hand on Osamu. He told him "Got your volunteers right here, Osamu."

"'Volunteers?'" said Osamu, uncertain he had heard his friend correctly.

"Yes, volunteers plural," Kazumitsu confirmed. After this, he looked over at Kaminari and gave her a signal through his eyes. After a moment of confusion, she quickly caught on to what he was trying to tell her. She stepped forward and casually told Osamu "Yes, Kazumitsu and I will be glad to make a run by the gas station."

"Both of you want to go out?" asked Osamu.

"I think it would make more sense if we went out in pairs," Kazumitsu reasoned out, "After all that's happened so far, we'd be better off that way."

"That is certainly true," agreed Osamu, rubbing his chin and thinking about this proposal. He was a little uncertain about sending two of his friends out into the city on such short notice, even though both of them were more than capable of defending themselves and each other. However, he could tell that they both knew what they were getting themselves into. After all, they had volunteered for the assignment out of their own freewill. They would not have done so unless they were fully certain they could do it successfully.

After careful consideration, Osamu agreed to let them get the gas together. He asked them when they planned on getting it; Kazumitsu answered with "Right now. Better sooner than later."

Seeing the logic in these words, Osamu let them leave. Kazumitsu picked up his flamethrower off the ground, along with his backpack and supply pack. He slung them over his shoulders and carried them towards the door. Kaminari was already waiting there for him, as she had also gathered up her supply pack and backpack.

"I wish you two the best of luck," Osamu honestly told them, "If you run into any trouble, do not pursue. Try your hardest to lose the tracker. Once you have, come back here as soon as possible, with or without the gas."

"You got it, Osamu," Kazumitsu agreed with a nod of his head. After that, he turned to the door and held it open for Kaminari. She smiled in thanks and stepped outside; he followed her close behind. Once they were both outside, Osamu closed and locked the door again.

Kaminari and Kazumitsu slowly approached the car and stepped up to the passenger's seat and driver's seat respectively. Once they got in, they tossed their bags into the backseat. Kaminari still had her map in her lap.

Kazumitsu quickly went to work hotwiring the car. Once he got the engine to start, he switched off the parking brake and activated the driving gear. He gripped the steering wheel with both hands and told Kaminari "You give the directions to the gas station; I'll follow them."

"Fair enough," Kaminari replied, "But before we do that, would you care to enlighten me on what we're really doing there? I assume you have some sort of plan in mind?"

"Of course I do," Kazumitsu assured her, "However, I want to wait until we're a safe distance away from here to explain it. But in time, I will tell you everything."

Normally, Kaminari would not agree to these types of terms, but she reminded herself that Kazumitsu was the only one she could trust as an actual ally. She managed to bring herself to go along with it. "Alright. You got yourself a deal."

Kazumitsu turned the car around and began driving to the south. All the while, Kaminari gave him directions to F-4.

…

Back in F-6, Blaine Rhodes and Yuuga Suzuki had finally finished removing all the boxes from the bomb shelter. They were in the midst of sorting them out. Some contained rations, some contained weapons, some contained water. There was not much in the way of weapons. In fact, the deadliest items were perhaps the crates themselves, as they were made of very thick and sturdy wood.

Blaine and Yuuga were just glad they had plenty supplies on hand. It would come in handy if they needed to stake out for a prolonged period of time.

However, the main reason Blaine and Yuuga had moved and sorted out the boxes was that they wanted to keep their minds occupied. Now that the crates were organized, they found they had nothing much to do. They just stood against the wall, thinking about what else they could do.

Blaine sighed and remarked "Oh, boy, am I bored."

"I know the feeling," Yuuga told him, "But of course, I'd rather be here, bored and calm, than out there, excited and in danger."

Blaine scoffed and said "You seem to be using the most interesting terms to describe the Program, Yuuga. I'm not certain I would call playing it 'exciting.'"

"I suppose I need to work on simplifying my terminology," Yuuga clarified, "I mean 'exciting' as in heart-pounding, not as in entertaining."

"Still, I'm impressed," Blaine admitted, "I wasn't even aware that you can get excited, Yuuga. In all the time I've known you, nothing's ever seemed to excite you."

"I understand how you'd come to that conclusion," Yuuga commented, "I can assure you that I can be as excitable as the next person. But my emotions are in check."

"Do you have like… I dunno, complete control over them or something?" asked Blaine.

"In a way, you could say that," Yuuga confirmed, "I never let my emotions get the better of me."

"I suspected it had something to do with that," Blaine thought aloud, "If that's the case, Yuuga, I would like to know something. **How **are you able to hide and control your emotions so well? Especially under these circumstances?"

Yuuga did not know how to answer that question straight away. How he handled his emotions was something of a private matter. The only people who knew about it were his therapist and Yuriye Sakaguchi (Girl #9). The only reason he had told them was because he knew he could trust both of them to keep his secrets confidential.

However, he saw no harm in telling Blaine his secrets, given the occasion. In the nine months he had known Blaine, he had come to think of him as an honest and trustworthy person. So Yuuga turned to him and began explaining with just one sentence: "It's something of an acquired skill, Blaine."

"Does it have anything to do with your ability to 'read faces?'" asked Blaine.

"Actually, it has **everything **to do with it," Yuuga enlightened him, "I've been able to interpret people's feelings through their facial expressions all my life. While I've mostly viewed it as a gift, it can sometimes be a burden as well. This is what it's like for me: every time I look at someone's face, I can pick up whatever emotions they are feeling. A lot of the time, I can even share in their emotions. That's why people say I'm empathic. With one or two people, that is just fine. Now imagine what it would be like to study a multitude of different faces at once, pick up so many different emotions from them at the same time, and try to experience them all simultaneously."

"That sounds quite overwhelming," was all Blaine said.

"It is," stated Yuuga, "But I went through that almost every day for the first ten years of my life. I probably would have gone mad, had I not decided to do something about it."

Blaine leaned forward in interest and asked "What did you do?"

"In the fifth grade, I started teaching myself how to regulate my feelings," Yuuga explained, "I figured that if I could control my own emotions, I could easily control my empathy. It was mostly a bunch of meditating and breathing exercises at first. Then I took on some yoga and temperance exercises. Overtime, I gradually felt myself become more and more in control of my empathic ability. It took years to perfect, but in the end it was worth it. These days, I have as much control over my emotions as a monk. I only feel any emotions – both mine and others' – when I choose to feel them."

Blaine whistled in amazement. "You went through years of solitary exercises to control your emotions? Damn, that's some personal commitment. You'd make a Vulcan proud with that kind of determination."

Yuuga scoffed in amusement, saying "I like that idea. In the world of Star Trek, I suppose I would make a good Vulcan."

"I guess you would," Blaine agreed.

The two of them were left in silence for about a minute. Blaine began wondering. He thought about all Yuuga just told him. Yuuga had spent almost half of his life learning to master his own emotions. They did not dictate his actions; he dictated them. Then Blaine wondered; if such skills could be acquired, could they be taught as well?

He turned to his friend and said "Yuuga, I have a favor to ask."

"I'm listening," stated the empathic boy, looking over at Blaine.

"Do you suppose… maybe, just maybe… you could teach me how to control my emotions, too?" Blaine asked, "I mean, I did say earlier that it would be wiser if I handled myself more like you. I figure if I can learn to manipulate my own emotions as you have, we'd have a better chance of survival."

"I don't know about that, Blaine," Yuuga responded, "It took me years of continual practice and discipline to get it right."

"But you ultimately **did **get it right," Blaine pointed out, "A wise man once said 'Anything that can be learned can be instilled.'"

Yuuga raised an eyebrow in perplexity and enquired "What wise man said **that**?"

"Well… I don't really know," Blaine answered, "In fact, I'm not even sure a wise man said those words. Wouldn't surprise me if one had, though. Look, if you don't think I'm up to it, I understand. It was just an idea anyway."

"Wait just a moment, Blaine," Yuuga countered, holding up a hand, "I never said I wouldn't do it. It's just… I've never revealed my secrets to anyone. How I control my emotions is a very deep and personal matter. I can teach you, and if you really wish it, I will. But you must promise me one thing."

"Anything," said Blaine.

"You must never reveal my teachings to anyone else," Yuuga requested, "You see, my methods of self-control are very different from those of a typical meditator. While I'm willing to bet you've seen most of my techniques elsewhere, I'm certain you've never seen a combination of them such as the one I have."

"Alright you got yourself a deal," Blaine agreed, "But I wouldn't worry about me giving away your secrets, Yuuga. After all, have you forgotten we're surrounded by cameras which are broadcasting live?"

"There aren't any cameras in the bomb shelter," Yuuga corrected him, "If we go down there, we'd be away from the public's eyes."

"That seems equitable," said Blaine. He thought about the letter in his pocket and told Yuuga "Don't worry about me giving away your secrets. I've recently become a master at withholding secretive information."

"What do you mean by that?" Yuuga asked a little suspiciously.

"Nothing," Blaine quickly replied, "It's not important, anyway. So, when do we begin?"

"Right now, if you're ready," Yuuga offered.

Blaine was eager to start as soon as possible. However, before he could say a word, a heavy clicking sound filled the air all around them. Blaine and Yuuga looked around the lobby of City Hall, looking for the source of the sound. After a moment, they realized it was coming from outside the building.

"What the hell is that?" Blaine asked nervously.

"It sounds like… firecrackers," Yuuga speculated, trying to stay calm.

"No, that's definitely not firecrackers," Blaine retorted, pulling his Remington shotgun off his shoulders and arming himself with it, "Firecrackers go off at an erratic interval. That clicking sound is much too rhythmic to be them."

A moment later, the door to the mayor's office opened and Tatsuo Inoue stepped out. He was armed with his Luger pistol.

"Guys, I think you should see this," he uneasily told Yuuga and Blaine. He held the door open to allow the two of them entrance into the office. Once they were inside, he shut the door behind them.

Kiyomi Takayama had been standing at the window. She was gazing out of it with a frantic look in her eyes. Blaine rushed over to her and asked "What is it? What's wrong?"

She just used her finger to point outside the window and towards the ground. Blaine followed her finger and looked. Yuuga and Tatsuo approached the window and looked in the same direction. There, they saw the source of the noise.

A hooded figure was standing in the center of the road, armed with a submachine gun. The figure was firing an entire clip's worth of bullets at two male students. Both of the boys had taken cover in an alley on the opposite side of the street, but from what Blaine could tell, they were pinned down.

…

A few minutes earlier, Shuuichi Kai and Kenzou Iwamoto had crossed over from F-5 into F-6. They were still in the midst of making their way to the fire department in E-6.

Kenzou had his map out in his left hand. He was examining it closely as they walked, as he wanted to single out the safest possible route between the hospital and the fire department. In this context, "safe" was determined by a variety of factors. For one thing, he wanted to make certain they were surrounded by tall buildings everywhere. This would give them some cover from the area around. If they were out in the open, they could easily be spotted.

At one point, Kenzou looked up from his map and turned to Shuuichi. He noticed that his friend looked a little glum. Concerned, Kenzou asked him "Are you feeling alright?"

"Hmmm?" said Shuuichi, looking at Kenzou out of the corner of his eye, "Oh, yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. I guess I'm still a little disoriented from the blood donation."

"I can tell that well enough on my own," Kenzou remarked, "You look as though something else is bothering you."

Shuuichi looked away and said "Truthfully… something is."

"Care to enlighten me?" asked Kenzou.

Shuuichi did not answer straight away. But after a few minutes, he sighed and told Kenzou "Actually, yes. I was just thinking about what happened before we got Daisuke to the hospital. I was thinking about the incident with the sniper."

"What about it?" enquired Kenzou.

"Well, when the noon announcements came on, six of our classmates were listed amongst the dead," Shuuichi reminded him, "Keep in mind it was in the order they died. Tsukasa was fourth on the list. The two following him were Goro and Tamayo."

"What's your point?" said Kenzou.

"I know for certain that whoever the sniper was, they would have died shortly after I shot them," Shuuichi reasoned, "I recall that Furutani said something about how Tamayo was doing something other than playing the game, so the sniper couldn't have been her."

"Then it must have been Goro," Kenzou finished.

"I came to that conclusion, too," stated Shuuichi, "Now that I know who it was I shot… I feel a little disconcerted."

"In what way?" asked Kenzou.

"While I can't say I really knew Goro well, I do know for a fact that he never would have done such a thing back home" Shuuichi expounded, "After all, he's never struck me as the type willing to commit murder."

"That's just the way it is here in the Program," Kenzou pointed out, "People change in the worst ways imaginable. The ones that lose hope are among the first to change. Those people either take the easy way out, or decide to participate in the game."

"So you think Goro lost hope?" asked Shuuichi.

"He must have," Kenzou concluded, "Otherwise, he would not have shot at us."

"And I wouldn't have had to shoot him," Shuuichi realized, looking off to the side.

Kenzou placed his hand on his friend's shoulder and told him "It's best not to dwell on it. What's done is done. Goro's gone and nothing will bring him back."

"That doesn't exactly make me feel better," Shuuichi mumbled as he gazed at one of the buildings surrounding them.

"You did what you had to do so that we could survive," Kenzou argued, "After all, you're the only one that's been trained to handle a rifle. No one else could have made that shot."

"I know, I know," stated Shuuichi.

It was obvious to Kenzou that nothing he had told Shuuichi so far was making him feel better. He thought about using a different approach.

Kenzou actually had another goal in mind other than surviving the Program. He had formed this objective several hours earlier, just after he left the school. For his own reasons, he had not told anyone else about it. However, he did not plan to keep it a secret from everyone. He actually wanted to tell one of his classmates – only one – about it. He was merely waiting until he was sure he had found the right person.

Shortly after Kenzou left the school, he had come across Daisuke. It had been Kenzou's idea for the two of them to pair up and work together. Daisuke agreed to this on one condition: he wanted Kenzou's help in finding Naozumi. Kenzou agreed to this arrangement. Kenzou quickly came to the conclusion that Daisuke was not the one he needed.

Less than an hour after this, Daisuke and Kenzou had encountered Shuuichi and Tsukasa near the western apartment complex. The four boys teamed up together, even though Tsukasa's behavior quickly started to annoy both Daisuke and Kenzou.

Kenzou quickly concluded that Tsukasa was not the one he needed, either. However, he had begun to suspect that Shuuichi might be the one. He was definitely the easiest to get along with, as well as the one with the most useful skills.

Half a day had passed since then, and Kenzou was certain that Shuuichi was the one he needed; the one he could reveal his plan to. Now he just needed a discreet way of presenting his plan. So he began by changing the subject while retaining the conversation's original focus.

"Shuuichi, everyone is skilled at something," he remarked, "In the Program, some of our skills can be extremely useful. I know for absolute certain that your chief skill with firearms is invaluable. You shouldn't kick yourself for using your skill against Goro."

Shuuichi turned to Kenzou and looked him in the eye. He could tell that Kenzou meant everything he told him. He also realized Kenzou was correct. Goro had fired the first shot and he had spilt the first blood. Shuuichi recalled that before he had picked up Tsukasa's rifle, he had looked for another option other than fighting back. But they had been trapped in an alley with no way out. Thus, their only alternative was to eliminate Goro.

In the end, Shuuichi smiled and said "You're right, Kenzou. I should just be glad we're alive. It could have been much, much worse. Just look at what happened to Tsukasa."

"True," Kenzou nodded in agreement, "There's also what happened to Daisuke."

"Yeah, but at least we had you around to handle that problem," Shuuichi remarked, "By the way, on the subject of chief skills, would you say that yours is your medical knowledge?"

"I would say that," Kenzou concurred.

"Just out of curiosity, how much **do** you know about our anatomy?" queried Shuuichi, "You seem to have an extensive familiarity with it… for an athlete."

"I'm just fascinated by what makes the human body tick," Kenzou enlightened him, "I've studied it broadly over the years, and I've come to learn some very interesting facts."

"Like what?" queried Shuuichi.

Kenzou thought about how to answer him, and then he told him the following: "You know how many neural connections there are in your brain? Neither do I. There's so many that it's actually easier to count the number of atoms in the universe. There are also twelve bones in the human body that can never be broken whenever a person falls to his or her death, regardless of how far they fall. I think the most relevant fact I know is perhaps how the heart functions. You see, the arteries, the vessels, and the ventricles are primarily responsible for the flow of blood to the brain and veins. The aorta is debatably the most critical part of the heart, as the life-expectancy of a ruptured one is about a minute. It's very hard for an aorta to rupture on its own without some type of external intervention. But it's still possible for something to go wrong internally. Let's say for example that one of blood vessels just above the heart was to become severed. If that was to happen, it would ultimately lead to massive internal bleeding. After losing enough blood, the aorta would virtually split open and the victim would be done for."

Shuuichi was both impressed and disturbed by what Kenzou was telling him. "Really? All that can happen because of one severed blood vessel?"

"It can indeed," Kenzou confirmed, "With one damaged blood vessel, the heart could shut down in about week. But in Daisuke's case, it can happen even faster."

This entire time, Shuuichi and Kenzou had been walking through F-6. At this point, they had reached the street that ran along the west side of City Hall. When Kenzou said that last line, Shuuichi halted in his tracks.

He slowly turned to Kenzou, who was now grinning deviously. Shuuichi asked him quietly "What do you mean by that?"

"You may recall that Daisuke was shot three inches above the heart," Kenzou elucidated, "When I performed that operation to extract the bullet, I noticed he had not one, but two damaged blood vessels above his heart. The bullet must have been responsible for that."

"Well, were you able to reattach them?" Shuuichi asked hopefully.

"Of course I wasn't," Kenzou answered bluntly, "It would have been a waste of time. Plus, I don't have enough experience to perform heart surgery."

"Well, why the hell didn't you say anything?" Shuuichi demanded.

"Because there would have been no point," Kenzou explained, "Daisuke is pretty much a goner anyway. With two severed blood vessels, I'd say he's got about three days left at most. If he actually lasts that long, he'll spend most of that time in excruciating pain. Then his aorta will give out."

"And this can't be avoided?" Shuuichi muttered in shock.

"Not without professional help," said Kenzou, "If he somehow got a licensed physician to treat his bullet wound, he might survive. But that would be an impossibility here. Besides, there's a chance it won't be his aorta that kills him."

"What?" Shuuichi shouted in surprise, "How do you know?"

"When we first entered the hospital, you may recall I took a long time to search the ER," Kenzou recounted, "The truth is I never set foot in that room. I just lingered around to give you and the others the idea I was there. You see, there was blood on the door that led to the ER. It was fresh blood, meaning someone else had been there recently. For all I know, that person could still be there."

"Is that why you were so quick to suggest we take Daisuke up to the second floor?" Shuuichi asked through gritted teeth.

"Correct," Kenzou replied simply, "I'm just glad Naozumi came up with the idea of finding another hideout. Otherwise I would not have had an excuse to leave the hospital."

"Why did you want to leave it?" Shuuichi asked suspiciously.

"Isn't it obvious?" stated Kenzou, "Our little 'group' had two weak links in it: Daisuke and Naozumi. Daisuke is of little use with a bullet wound and Naozumi is too soft. With them out of the picture, you and I have a much better chance of survival."

"If you were so eager to leave, then why did you do everything you did?" Shuuichi countered in disbelief, "Why did you remove the bullet from Daisuke's chest? Why'd you make that blood transfusion? Why'd you leave the Winchester rifle with Naozumi?"

"To forestall suspicion," Kenzou told him simply, "I needed to draw Naozumi and Daisuke into a false sense of security before I left. I need them to be convinced that they were out of harm's way. What better way to do that than give them the impression that all their troubles had already been fixed? That was the real reason I willingly performed that operation. All I can say now is that I'm glad I know so much about human anatomy. That was one scenario where my knowledge proved to be a real asset."

"I find it hard to believe you did all that as an act," Shuuichi retorted.

"Well, I did," Kenzou guaranteed him.

"Why the hell are you even telling me this?" Shuuichi demanded angrily.

Kenzou did not answer him straight away. But he kept that same uncomfortable smile on his face. He looked Shuuichi in the eye and stated "I have a proposition for you, Shuuichi. Let's work together from this point on. We can take advantage of the Program's new rule. We might even end up winning the game."

Shuuichi's jaw almost dropped when he heard those words come out of Kenzou's mouth. "You can't be serious."

"Oh, I'm quite serious," Kenzou assured the other boy, "The only way out of this game is to play it. You and I would make a great pair. Think about it: if we combine your marksman skills with my expansive knowledge of human anatomy, we would be virtually unstoppable. No one would stand a chance against us."

Shuuichi scowled in disgust at this suggestion. "No I know you're kidding. All this morning, you made it clear that you were against playing the Program entirely."

"That was just an act, too," Kenzou admitted, "I wasn't about to suggest playing the game in a group of more than two people."

"But what about this morning, when Tsukasa threatened Daisuke with his rifle?" Shuuichi recounted, "You stepped in and defended Daisuke. You even said something along the lines of 'anyone willing to play this game **is **a puppet of the government.'"

"Again, that was part of the act," Kenzou confessed, "Well, at least some of it was. I can assure you that my contempt for Tsukasa was genuine. After all, he was a stubborn fool. His type isn't meant to survive this sort of environment."

Kenzou paused for a brief interval here. Then he stated "So, what do you say? This partnership between us might actually work out, Shuuichi. You should take up my offer."

"What if my response to your offer is 'fuck you?'" stated Shuuichi, "What if I decide to just walk away and leave you on your own?"

"You could do that," Kenzou theorized, "But I doubt you'd get very far in your current state. I mean, you gave two pints of blood less than an hour ago. I can tell you're still quite delirious. If you were to collapse and I wasn't around, who would be there to help you up?"

"I'd be willing to take my chances," Shuuichi answered, "I mean, you honestly expect me to trust you with my life? I barely even **know **you, Kenzou. You and I never hanged out at school. The only thing we had in common was that we were in the same class."

"That may be, but I'm willing to bet we both want to get out of this hellhole alive," Kenzou countered, "That's something we have in common. You should just be glad I'm willing to work with you, Shuuichi. I'm willing to bet most of the rest of the class wouldn't trust someone who's been training with guns almost all his life. I, however, am willing to trust such a person. That being said, you and I'd have a much better chance of surviving if we play together."

Shuuichi decided he had had enough. He drew his handgun out of his belt and pulled back the hammer. He heatedly said to Kenzou "How do you know I won't turn my weapon on you the first time your back is turned? Tell me how you can be certain of that."

"Because of the aforementioned reasons," stated Kenzou, "Now you've proven to me that you're willing to play. If you still weren't, you would not have threatened me with a handgun."

"I haven't threatened you in any way yet," Shuuichi sharply remarked, "Then again, I don't see any moral dilemma in killing someone as dishonest as you."

Kenzou shrugged and held his arms out on either side. He told Shuuichi "Go ahead. If you really want to eliminate the one person who could function as your partner in this game, go ahead and do it."

So far, everything Kenzou had told Shuuichi was absolutely serious. He had not made a single joke or lie in any way. Even this sentence was true. He was actually presenting Shuuichi with a chance to take him down.

Shuuichi stood there, contemplating his options. The way he saw it, there were three possible things he could do.

His first option was that he could take up Kenzou on his offer, work with him to win the game, and probably walk out of the city alive. While he did not want to die in the Program, he was still unwilling to shed any more blood. He had already gotten over killing Goro, but he did not want more deaths on his conscience.

His second option was even simpler. He could shoot Kenzou. This did not necessarily mean he would shoot to kill; he could just shoot Kenzou in the foot and leave him behind. Then again, leaving him for dead was no better than killing him directly.

His third option was the one his parents encouraged him to take whenever he was in trouble. This was to just walk away and leave Kenzou. That seemed to be the most sensible option. Even if Shuuichi still felt dizzy from the blood transfusion, he was willing to risk survival on his own without Kenzou around.

He looked up at Kenzou and was about to give him his response. But he did not even open his mouth before he saw the expression on the other boy's face. In the few seconds Shuuichi had turned away, Kenzou's smirk had left his face. Now he appeared to be downright terrified. Shuuichi looked down at his hand and noticed that he had somehow pointed it at Kenzou's chest. He quickly turned it away and told him frantically "Kenzou, I wasn't going to do it! I swear I wasn't! I-!"

He abruptly stopped talking when he realized something else. Kenzou wasn't staring at Shuuichi. He was staring… at something behind him. Shuuichi abruptly turned around and saw the real source of Kenzou's terror.

A hooded figure was standing forty feet away from them. It was slowly advancing towards them without making a sound. The worst part was that the figure was armed with a submachine gun which was pointed directly at them.

Kenzou turned to the left and saw an open alleyway. Thinking fast, he placed his hand on Shuuichi's shoulder and told him "Come on! Run!"

The two of them sprinted over to the alley as fast as they could. Just before they reached it, the figure raised its submachine gun and let loose a few rounds. By pure luck, none of the bullets hit either Kenzou or Shuuichi.

Kenzou ducked into the alleyway first, Shuuichi followed close behind. They hid behind the wall as the figure kept firing at them.

Had either of them looked up and across the street at that time, they would have seen four of their classmates staring down upon them from the mayor's office in City Hall.

…

It had been about a half-hour since Kazumitsu Hayashi and Kaminari Ishida had left the bar in D-7. In order to get to the gas station in F-4, they would have to drive two miles south and three miles west. The most direct route from the two foundations was not a straight path. In fact, they ended up having to zigzag all over the city.

Eventually, they stopped outside a hotel in E-5. They were a little surprised to find a hotel in the city, seeing as how almost forty percent of it was composed of the apartment complexes. But then again, it was not the most surprising thing they had seen all day.

Kazumitsu decided to park the car there and wait a few moments before going on.

"Why are we stopping?" asked Kaminari, "We've still got a little way to go."

"The car's close to running on fumes," Kazumitsu explained, "If I turn off the engine and let it sit for a bit, we might get a little more fuel out of it. Believe me; we don't want to run out before we reach the gas station."

"Alright then," Kaminari agreed. The two of them sat in quietness for a short while as they waited for the engine to cool down. After about ten minutes had passed, Kaminari turned to Kazumitsu and said "Now that there's a good deal of space between us and the others, would you care to explain why you were so quick to volunteer the both of us for getting the gas?"

Kazumitsu just smirked and said "I have a simple plan in mind, Kaminari. Simple, but certainly effective. It'll be a way for us to get rid of our 'friends' without them even knowing of it."

He quickly caught Kaminari's attention. She leaned closer and told him in interest "Go on."

"Just a moment," said Kazumitsu. He turned around and reached for his backpack in the backseat. He unzipped it and pulled out a clipboard, a blank sheet of printer paper, and a pencil. Once he had these three items, he sat back down in the driver's seat and turned back to Kaminari. He clipped the sheet of printer paper onto the clipboard and placed it between himself and Kaminari. Then he picked up the pencil and began drawing.

First, he drew a large rectangle in the center of the paper. As he did this, he told Kaminari "Let's say for a moment that this rectangle represents the bar."

"Okay," she agreed, keeping her attention both on the paper and on what Kazumitsu was saying. A moment later, he used the pencil to blacken a part of one of the smaller ends of the rectangle. He also blackened a small section of one of the larger sides. Once this was accomplished, he looked up at Kaminari and remarked "You may recall that Gakuto asked me to search the entire building when we first arrived at it."

"Yes, I do remember that," she replied, "All you said was that no one else was there."

"Well, that was all Gakuto wanted to know," Kazumitsu pointed out. He turned back to the map and went on "During my search, I found that the only way in or out of the bar – other than the front entrance – is the back door. That's what the darkened spot on the larger side of this rectangle represents. The front door is represented by the darkened spot on the shorter side. You getting all this?"

"Yes, there are two entrances," Kaminari repeated, "Continue."

Kazumitsu then began drawing a bunch of small squares along the two darkened spots. He made certain to draw all of them outside the boundaries of the rectangle. When he was finished, he wrote the word "Gas" near the two clusters of squares. Kaminari's eyes widened considerably when she saw this.

Kazumitsu just remained smirking and he resumed his explanation: "Let's pretend someone was to align the two entrances to the bar with several canisters of gasoline. Then that 'someone' just happened to drop a match or other source of fire outside both doors simultaneously. In a matter of seconds, the entire bar would be up in flames. It would be impossible for anyone inside to get out safely."

At that, Kazumitsu drew four stick figures inside the rectangle. Then he drew a bunch of squiggly lines all over the rectangle. Once he was done, he gave the squiggly lines an unpleasant label: "Hellfire."

After this, he looked up at Kaminari. She still appeared to be a little shocked. That did not stop Kazumitsu from asking her "Well, what do you think of it?"

She slowly looked up at him and said in a very quiet voice "Kazumitsu… this has to be the most sick… demented… berserk idea you've ever come up with."

Kazumitsu's smirk faded away. He was so certain that Kaminari would like his plan. Perhaps he had gone a little too far?

However, a moment later, Kaminari grinned wickedly and finished her statement with "And I absolutely **love **it! It's a brilliant plan!"

Kazumitsu's smirk quickly returned. Kaminari was not disgusted by his plan; she was giving him the wrong idea and bringing out her true thoughts immediately after. In other words, she was just being herself.

"Then it's settled," Kazumitsu thought aloud as he put his pencil into his pants pocket. He removed the piece of paper from his clipboard, folded it up twice, and slipped it inside his jacket. Then he returned his clipboard to his backpack and zipped it back up.

After he was finished with all this, Kaminari remarked "There are still a few details about the plan I'm not entirely certain about."

"I'll tell you the rest of it when we get to the gas station," he assured her, "I think it would be best if we gather everything we need before getting into the specifics."

"Very well," she agreed.

Kazumitsu turned back to the steering wheel and stated "I do believe the engine has cooled down enough. Let's go get that gasoline."

"Yes, let's," Kaminari concurred, nodding her head.

Kazumitsu soon had the car back into gear. He resumed driving the car as Kaminari continued giving him directions to the gas station.

**31 Students Remaining**


	22. The Flaw Of Human Error

It had been about three minutes since Kenzou Iwamoto and Shuuichi Kai had taken cover from the hooded figure with the submachine gun. They were still backed up against the wall to the alley. They had no idea who they were up against, but finding out their attacker's identity was the least of their worries.

It had been almost two minutes since the figure had last fired at them. An unpleasant silence filled the air around them.

"Do you think he's still there?" Kenzou whispered.

Shuuichi shrugged in response. He slowly peaked around the corner of the alley and looked down the street. About ten meters away was the hooded figure. He raised his submachine gun and pointed it at the visible part of Shuuichi's head.

Shuuichi hastily moved his head away from the corner and stood back against the wall. He turned to Kenzou and told him "Yeah, he's there alright. He's locked and loaded."

"I wonder why he doesn't just come at us," Kenzou noted, "We're practically sitting ducks right here!"

"Maybe he saw my handgun," Shuuichi theorized, "If he did, he might be keeping his distance until he knows exactly what our weapons are."

"You think he's taking precautions?" inquired Kenzou.

"That could be the case," stated Shuuichi, "That would explain why he's wearing that hood; he doesn't want anyone to know who he is."

"That's a good call," said Kenzou.

The two of them remained up against the wall. They dared not move another inch closer to the alley's entrance.

After some more silence, Kenzou stated "So, what's your answer?"

"To what?" asked Shuuichi.

"Do you want to be my partner in this game or not?" Kenzou clarified hastily, "I'd suggest you decide quickly; we don't have a lot of time."

Shuuichi turned back towards Kenzou and stared at him blankly. He appeared shocked to hear those words come out of his mouth. "You've got to be kidding me."

"No, I'm goddamn serious," Kenzou told him, "This game is full of players who are determined to win. This guy is a fine example of one. The only way we're going to survive this thing is by working together and getting rid of the ambitious people."

"If we play, how would we be any better than the other players?" Shuuichi demanded.

"I don't give a **damn **about being 'better' than them," Kenzou snapped back, "You need to have a reality check, Shuuichi. You're thinking of our classmates too much. Only two of us will leave this city. I'd much prefer to be one of them. If you want to be the other survivor, it would make sense for us to work together."

"What if I get wounded?" Shuuichi sharply countered, "Or suppose something else happens that compromises my capabilities. What then, Kenzou? Will you ditch me like you did with Daisuke and Naozumi?"

"If we watch out for each other, we can avoid anything of the sort happening," Kenzou argued, "Besides, that was different. I will admit that Daisuke and Naozumi do have some gifts of their own. Daisuke is one of the shrewdest and most affable people in our class and Naozumi's tolerance and strength could get us out of trouble. You and I have the more valuable assets: gunmanship and medical training. With those skills, I don't think it would be possible for either of us to 'outlive his purpose,' so to speak."

"Well, who would be the one that actually risks his neck?" stated Shuuichi, "If I remember correctly, when Goro was firing at us earlier and we decided to take him out, you came up with the idea of the diversion. But you asked Daisuke to be the decoy."

"He had his fire extinguisher with him!" Kenzou pointed out, "I figured that if he used it properly, he would be able to divert Goro's attention without getting hurt."

"Your conclusion was flawed," Shuuichi grimly remarked, "And Daisuke took a bullet for us because of it."

"The fire extinguisher diversion **was** my idea, but I didn't force Daisuke to be the decoy," Kenzou reminded him, "All I did was give him the suggestion. He agreed to do it willingly."

"True," Shuuichi admitted, "But I'm no longer certain I can even trust you anymore. If you expect to get any more cooperation out of me, we're going to have to be honest and straightforward with each other. So tell me, Kenzou; is there anything else you were planning on sharing with me? Anything that Naozumi and Daisuke do not know but I should?"

"Not at the moment," Kenzou replied truthfully, "I can understand why you're so suspicious about me, Shuuichi, but if it helps, I don't feel the same about you. I'm already willing to trust you, and it's not easy for me to trust people I barely know. If you can come to trust me, we'll be able to rely on each other. Think about what I'm saying. Believe me, if I could, I'd try to get all our classmates out of this game. I really would try to save them all. But we're just going to have to face the facts and accept that that's a definite impossibility. Only two will get out. Those two could be you and me."

Up until now, Shuuichi had been able to think up numerous reasons for why they should not play the game. However, Kenzou had been able to provide a convincing argument to counter every single one of them. In a strange way, Kenzou's stubbornness was a little overwhelming. He probably felt that way because he was still a little lightheaded from the blood transfusion.

Fortunately, he could still think clearly enough to grasp the situation. He knew Kenzou was right about one thing: only two students in Class 3-A would be able to "win" the game. In fact, they were lucky to have such an opportunity; only one winner was allowed in all the previous games.

While Shuuichi did not want to embrace this truth, he did know that he could not fool himself into thinking otherwise. He thought about the scenario, and he noticed that Kenzou was practically **begging **him to be his partner. This implied that he was not going to force Shuuichi to help him. When Shuuichi came to this conclusion, he realized that he had a little leverage over Kenzou.

After another minute of silence, Shuuichi turned to Kenzou and stated "Alright, Kenzou. We'll work together. But first, I want to get a few things straight."

"Okay," Kenzou nodded his head. He seemed to be a little more optimistic now that he had Shuuichi's cooperation. "Go ahead and give them to me."

"First off, we're not going to just go around the city and act like a couple of coldblooded psychopaths," Shuuichi illuminated his thoughts, "By that, I mean that we won't be the ones who spill the first blood. We'll only use deadly force if someone else tries to attack us first."

"That's fine with me," Kenzou agreed, "We can count on the other ambitious people to eliminate all the non-players. After all, while this city is vast, it can only have so much space. Besides, given how the body count is rising, I doubt **we** would come across many people."

"We came across **him**," Shuuichi observed, gesturing in the direction of the hooded figure.

"That's because we stayed out in the open for too long," Kenzou pointed out, "In fact, that's the same reason why Tsukasa was gunned down. Standing out in the street makes us easy targets. If we limit our time outside, we should be able to avoid these types of confrontations."

"I guess you're right," Shuuichi stated. He paused and continued with "Now, there are a few more terms I want to establish. On the subject of staying out in the open, I don't want us to spend all our time hunting for other players. We should also focus on finding a hideout."

"Smart thinking," Kenzou remarked, "But I would advise against trying the fire department anymore. In the unlikely but still possible event F-5 goes danger zone, Naozumi might end up taking Daisuke to the fire department even if we don't get back to the hospital."

"I understand," said Shuuichi, "Lastly, I want to discuss the level of collaboration we'll have in this game. If we're forced to kill someone, I don't want to be the one who always has to deliver the final blow."

"You're the one with the handgun," Kenzou pointed out.

"Yeah, but you left the rifle with Naozumi," Shuuichi commented.

"Call it a final act of charity to him and Daisuke," Kenzou uttered, "Believe me, I'm beginning to regret doing that. However, I still have my Taser. If you want, I could use it on the next player we come across."

"Are you so sure it would be possible to fatally wound someone with that thing?" asked Shuuichi

"Oh, yeah," Kenzou cheekily replied, "When you've been studying human anatomy as long as I have, you come to learn quite a lot. I know how to hit a person where it REALLY hurts. If I can get someone with my Taser in the right spot, I can even shock them to death."

"Would you be willing to test that claim?" enquired Shuuichi.

"If it comes down to it, I'll try it on the next player we come across," Kenzou responded, "But not this one. The Taser would only be good for dealing with players we can safely approach. By that, I mean the players that do not have guns or other long-range weapons. Right now, I think you have the better weapon for handling that asshole."

"So what do you suggest we do?" inquired Shuuichi.

"I do have a plan," Kenzou assured him, "But I'll need your full cooperation if it's going to work. Am I to assume we understand each other now?"

"Yeah, you've convinced me I can trust you," Shuuichi answered, albeit somewhat reluctantly, "Go ahead and tell me your plan."

Kenzou turned his head and looked down the alley. Part of it had been entirely boarded up. A wall of ten-foot wooden planks had been set up halfway between the two entrances of the alley. They were almost twice as tall as him. Climbing the wall would be difficult.

Difficult, but – Kenzou was certain – not impossible. Without turning back to Shuuichi, he explained "That fence is built too high for both of us to climb over it. However, if I give you a lift, you should be able to reach the top and hoist yourself over it. All you'd have to do is drop to the other side; you should land flat on your feet without harming yourself."

"That's a bit of a relief," stated Shuuichi, "But what about you? You'd still be trapped in here."

"I'm not done with explaining the plan yet," Kenzou informed him. When he was certain he still had Shuuichi's attention, he went on with "Once you're on the other side, get through the alley and take a right turn at the end so that you're facing the north. From there, try to make your way around the block. Better yet, enter the very next alleyway if it's not boarded up like this one. Hopefully, that player will still be focused on me. That should give you the element of surprise over him. See if you can sneak up on him. Then… plug him. Plug him good."

Shuuichi had to admit that this was a very well thought-out plan, but Kenzou was betting a lot of it on hope and chance. Then again, Shuuichi could not think of any better idea. Whoever the attacker was, he obviously had very good reflexes and focus. If he so much as tried to turn around the corner of the alley again, he was certain the assailant would let loose another wave of bullets. The only other option was to sneak up on him and catch him unaware.

"Okay, you got it," he responded, "Let's put this fucker in his place."

Kenzou smirked and commented "Gladly."

The two of them quietly made their way to the center of the alley. When they reached the wooden wall, Kenzou dropped to his knees and balanced himself on his hands. He turned to Shuuichi and said "Whenever you're ready."

Before he did anything, Shuuichi paused. He said straightforwardly "Kenzou, you're putting an awful lot of faith in this plan, and a lot of faith in me. You do know that once I'm over the wall, I could just take off and leave you here for dead, right?"

Kenzou smirked and replied calmly "Of course you could do that. But if you really planned to, you wouldn't have brought that idea up. At least not until you were over the wall already. Besides, you're not that type of person; you wouldn't leave an ally behind. In fact, if we did it your way, I'm willing to bet we would have stayed at the hospital with Daisuke and Naozumi."

Shuuichi just sighed and stated humorously "Yeah, I guess so."

"You about ready to go?" Kenzou asked, as he was starting to get a little uncomfortable hunched over on the ground as he was.

Shuuichi nodded, tucked his handgun into his belt, and stepped forward. He raised his leg into the air and stepped up onto Kenzou's back. Then he brought his other leg up and rose to his full height. He raised his arms into the air and reached out as far as he could.

"I can't quite reach it," he whispered to Kenzou.

"I'll try to give you a boost," Kenzou retorted. He lifted his back up a little bit every few seconds. Shuuichi managed to retain his balance and about thirty seconds later, he jumped for the fence. He grabbed ahold of the top and told his friend "I've got the ledge!"

"Excellent," Kenzou breathed out as he got back onto his feet. Shuuichi started lifting himself up to the top of the fence. Kenzou kept an eye on him in case he needed more assistance. But he appeared to be doing just fine on his own.

Soon, Shuuichi made it to the top of the fence and threw one of his legs over it. Ten seconds later, he managed to throw his other leg over it. He gracefully dropped to the other side, landing flat on his feet.

"You good so far?" Kenzou asked him through the fence.

"Yeah, I'm doing fine," Shuuichi replied, "You go back to the entrance of the alley and wait there. I'm going to make my way around the block like you told me to."

"Alright, go ahead and take care of that," Kenzou instructed him "Just remember that this tactic needs a great deal of stealth if it's going to work. I'm in no hurry to get anywhere, so go ahead and take your time with it."

"Got it," Shuuichi concurred.

Kenzou heard the sound of footsteps walking down the alley. Soon the footsteps faded away, meaning that Shuuichi was gone.

Kenzou turned around and approached the entrance of the alley again. He made certain to stay away from the very front of it. He only got close enough so that he could keep an eye on the corner.

He waited for Shuuichi to handle the attacker. While Kenzou was in no rush to be anywhere, he hoped it would not take Shuuichi long to get around the block. Being pinned down in that alley was beginning to make Kenzou feel like a trapped animal.

…

"There it is, just like the map said," Kaminari Ishida remarked, gazing through the windshield at the building a hundred feet away.

She and Kazumitsu Hayashi had arrived in F-4 a few minutes earlier. They found the gas station easily enough and in just the nick of time.

"Perfect timing," commented Kazumitsu, "We're barely even running on fumes. Another mile and I would have had to get out and push this thing to the station. Not that I would mind that; it would have made a good workout."

Pushing a Toyota Highlander alone can be a physically-stressful task, even for a grown man. However, for a person of Kazumitsu's build, such a thing would have been relatively simple. He would have been able to push the car on his own, even if Kaminari stayed inside of it. He was mostly just grateful for the convenience of the gas station's location.

The Highlander slowly rolled into the gas station. Kazumitsu parked it next to one of the gas terminals and then he turned the car off. After that, he and Kaminari opened the driver and passenger doors respectively and stepped out of the vehicle.

Like most countries in Europe, cars in Japan have the steering wheel on the right side of the front seat. Kazumitsu had parked the car to the left of the terminal. When he stepped out of the car, he studied the side of the vehicle and discovered the opening to the gas tank was on the right side, as well. He was glad he had parked the car where he did; he would be able to refill it manually with the nozzle.

Kazumitsu then stepped up to the terminal and examined it next. The screen above the data pad was blank, meaning that the terminal was offline.

"Looks like the terminal's inactive," he informed Kaminari, "No big surprise there; if the whole city was evacuated, the owner must have made certain to shut everything down."

"That might mean that the gas station was emptied, too," Kaminari grimly pointed out.

"I don't think so," Kazumitsu countered, "Draining the station would have taken hours. These people were on a strict time constraint when the government ordered them out of this city. Besides, I can still smell gasoline in the air. The scent would have pretty much faded by now if the station was dry."

"Then we're in luck," Kaminari concluded, "But we still have a problem. How will we get the terminal up and running again?"

"Well, the terminals at self-service gas stations are usually monitored by the front desk inside the store," Kazumitsu recalled. He gestured over his shoulder at the convenience store and told her "If I go in there, I should be able to activate them. You stay here and keep watch; I'll be back in a moment."

She nodded and looked around the vicinity. She could not see anyone else in either direction. Kazumitsu made his way over to the front entrance of the store and tried to pull the door open. When he found it locked, he just shrugged and said humorously "Oh, well. Guess we'll have to do it the hard way."

The gang had committed breaking and entering several times back home in Fujisawa. It was actually one of Kazumitsu's specialties. He turned his body so that he was facing the door sideways. Then he lifted his one of his large arms into the air and rammed his elbow against the glass. The doorframe shattered into hundreds of tiny shards, all of which dropped to the ground. Kazumitsu smirked and stepped inside.

Kaminari watched him as he entered the store. He made his way through the bits of glass and arrived at the front of the door. He walked around the front desk and approached a panel near the cash register. He pressed the on-switch on the keyboard and the screen turned on. To Kazumitsu's relief, he did not need a code or a keycard to get into the mainframe. He was able to access all the station's gas terminals directly from the main menu. He was not certain which terminal was the one he parked his car by, so he went ahead and activated all of them.

Once he did this, he called out to Kaminari "The terminal should be up by now! Can you take a look at it?"

She went over to the terminal and studied the screen for a moment. When she saw the station's logo flash on the screen, she called back with "Yeah, it's back online!"

"Alright, good!" stated Kazumitsu, "Do you have your debit card on you?"

"Yeah, it's in my backpack!" she replied.

"Okay, you go ahead and use it to fill the car up," Kazumitsu instructed her, "I'll be out in a minute. I need to gather a few things up first."

"You got it!" she complied.

Kaminari approached the backseat of the car and opened the door. She reached in, pulled out her backpack, placed it upright in front of her and unzipped the front pocket. Then she extracted her wallet and removed her debit card from it. Not many people in the class had a debit card, but Kaminari's parents let her have one. She always used it responsibly and never for wasteful purposes. She certainly never used it whenever the gang conducted any criminal activity; otherwise the police would be able to trace the purchase back to her and the others.

She was just glad she had brought her card along. Getting the gasoline would be much easier this way. The class had been told that they would not need any spending money on the class trip, but Kaminari brought it along, just in case.

Kaminari stepped up to the terminal and swiped the card quickly through the slot. The machine picked up the signal in the card's microchip and a message appeared on the screen. It said "Is this a debit card?" Below that, two of the keys highlighted the words "Yes" and "No." Kaminari pressed the former of the two. Then she entered her pin number and – when asked for the gas type – selected regular.

She then opened the door to the hole in the car and unscrewed the cap. Then she removed the nozzle from the terminal and inserted the front of it into the sleeve of the hole. She pulled back the handle and put the latch into place. The nozzle began filling up the gas tank all on its own.

Kaminari leaned against the car as she waited for Kazumitsu to return. A minute later, he did. He was carrying about a dozen empty gas cans in his arms. As he approached Kaminari, he could hear the sound of liquid being transferred through a hose. He also saw the numbers on the money and gas icons fluctuate upwards.

"Glad to see it worked," he remarked as he dumped the gas cans by the side of the car, "When it's full, we'll need to fill these up, too. There're a couple more things I need to get from the store."

"What sort of things?" she asked.

"Just a few groceries," he replied simply, turning back to the store, "Just keep an eye on the area. I'll be right back."

Kaminari nodded and remained at her post next to the car. As she kept watch, she began wondering about Kazumitsu's plan. There was still a lot that he had yet to tell her, but she was confident that he would soon explain everything. She was just hopeful that the plan would be successful.

A few minutes later, the latch on the nozzle's handle switched off and the gas stopped pumping. That was a sign that the car's tank was full. Kaminari removed the nozzle from the sleeve, but she did not return it to its holder just yet. Kazumitsu returned a moment later with a few more canisters. These ones were full, and they were not gasoline cans.

"Kazumitsu, what's all this?" Kaminari enquired as her associate placed all the cans on the hood of the car.

He just grinned deviously at her and answered her question with a rhetorical question: "Have you heard of Vyacheslav Molotov, Kaminari?"

"Yeah, he was a key figure in the Bolshevik Revolution and he was the First Deputy Premier under Joseph Stalin," Kaminari recounted.

"Correct," Kazumitsu responded, "However, most people recognize his name from a certain makeshift weapon. After its development, this weapon was named after him by his Finish adversaries during the Winter War. They mostly meant it as an insult, but the weapon's name stayed. I speak, of course, of the Molotov cocktail."

Kaminari raised an eyebrow in fascination. "That's what all this is for? Wherever did you come up with **that** idea?"

Kazumitsu scoffed and explained "Before we left the bar, I was wondering what I could do with my flamethrower. After all, between the two of us, it's our only weapon, and there aren't many fire-based armaments that would be easy to work with. However, Molotov cocktails are an exception. They're portable, long-lasting, and very efficient. Plus, seeing as how they're triggered by fire, I'll be able to put my flamethrower to good use with them."

Kaminari merely shrugged and stated "I'll take your word for it. I assume you know how to make them?"

"Yeah," Kazumitsu confirmed, "About a month ago, Gakuto and I were talking about volatile substances during that lab in chemistry class. He told me about this website where one could learn how to mix together certain chemicals into flammable compounds. It was a restricted website, but he managed to swipe an authorization code from one of our recent black market operations. He gave it to me and I checked it out shortly after. The Molotov cocktail recipe was one of the first I came across. It's actually relatively easy to make one. Here, I'll show you."

At that, Kazumitsu stepped up to the open backseat door and removed his supply pack. He unzipped it, revealing several empty bottles piled over his Program-issued supplies. Kaminari noticed that the bottles had different labels and different aromas. Some of them were of different sizes, as well.

"Those bottles look familiar," she thought aloud.

"That's probably because I took them from the bar," Kazumitsu enlightened her, "Gakuto emptied them out when he needed alcohol for to soak that soap for the nitroglycerin. That was about the time when I got that idea for the Molotov cocktails. After I volunteered the two of us to get the gas for the car, I gathered as many as my supply pack could carry. I made certain to take the stoppers, too."

"Smart thinking," remarked Kaminari.

Kazumitsu took one of the bottles out of his supply pack, removed the cork, and slipped it into his pocket. Then he began working as Kaminari watched. He took the nozzle for the gas pump from her and began filling the bottle with gasoline. He instructed her "First, you take an empty bottle and fill it slightly under halfway full with gasoline. You could also use napalm or petroleum, but gasoline is easier to use and more accessible."

Kaminari just nodded her head and watched him in silence. Kazumitsu then picked up one of the canisters from the hood of the car and unscrewed the cap. Then he poured a small amount of a thick substance into the bottle. He told Kaminari "Then, you add some motor oil, making certain that you don't fill it to the brim. You need some room for the cloth."

Once he was done pouring the motor oil, Kazumitsu set the canister aside and put the bottle into the cup holder in the car's side door. Then he reached back into the car for his backpack. He opened it up and removed a towel. Using only his bare hands, he tore off a small part of the towel. He then took the piece of towel and stepped out of the car. He picked up another canister from the hood of the car and opened it up. He dipped the piece of towel into the canister and held it there for about thirty seconds. While the towel soaked, Kazumitsu told Kaminari "Then, you take a piece of cloth and soak it in alcohol or kerosene, which is what I've got here. You could also use gasoline for the wick, but from what I've observed, kerosene is better."

Kaminari managed to keep up with everything Kazumitsu told her. She was always one to pay attention and never one to nod off.

Kazumitsu removed the wick from the kerosene and set the canister aside. Then he picked up the bottle of motor oil and gasoline and inserted the wick partway.

"Next, you slide half of the soaked cloth into the bottle," Kazumitsu explained, "You have to make certain only part of the wick is in. Once that is handled, you put the stopper back in."

Next, Kazumitu pulled the bottle's cork out of his pocket and forced it back into the head. Getting it in over the cloth proved to be a little difficult, but Kazumitsu handled it. Once he was finished, he held his creation out for Kaminari to see. He stated proudly "And there you have it. One Molotov cocktail ready to go. When you're ready to use it, all you have to do is light it and throw it at your target."

Kaminari was impressed. She smiled in amazement and looked up at her friend. "That's pretty good, Kazumitsu. Can we give it a test?"

He smirked and said "Sure, why not? We may as well make certain they work."

Kazumitsu reached back into the car and pulled out his flamethrower. He slipped on the backpack and picked up the gun attachment. He adjusted the knobs on the backpack so that the gun was just barely giving off a flame. He wanted the flame to be small. Once he was satisfied with the flame, he picked up his Molotov cocktail and carefully brought the wick up to it. Soon, the tip of the cloth caught on fire. Kazumitsu quickly looked around for a target and found one a few seconds later.

"You see that air duct on top of that building over there?" he asked Kaminari.

She turned and saw a six-story building across the street. There was a curved air duct near the edge of the roof. She replied with "Yeah, I see it."

"I'm going to see if I can hit it from here," he informed her, "Keep your focus on the cocktail."

Kazumitsu squinted his eyes at the target and concentrated on the air duct. Then he pulled his arm back and threw the bottle as hard as he could into the air. Less than ten seconds later, the bottle broke right against the air duct, which burst into flames almost immediately.

"Yes!" Kazumitsu shouted, shaking his fist triumphantly. Kaminari continued smiling and she patted him on the back.

"Great throw!" she congratulated him.

"Thanks," he told her, "Now that we know the cocktail works, we can make as many of them as we want. Let's get down to business."

"Yes, let's," she concurred.

The two of them went to work at the gas station, preparing themselves for the assault Kazumitsu had planned. They were so certain of its success that they had not a single care in the world about anything else at the time.

However, they were not out of danger yet. One thing they had taken for granted was the seclusion of their position. It was already after midday, and the fire on the roof of the building across the street went out after only a few minutes, but in the time it was blazing, it could be seen from over a mile in any direction.

Bright lights have a tendency to attract a number of different things, such as flies, deer, curious children, and vicious hunters. Hunters are perhaps the most notable of these examples. There were always plenty of hunters in the Program, including this one. Unbeknownst to Kazumitsu and Kaminari, some of the players were not far from the gas station.

…

Kenzou Iwamoto did not like being alone. While he was far from the most popular student in Class 3-A, he enjoyed hanging out with many of his classmates.

However, he did not spend his time with just anyone; he was very selective of his friends. He had a habit of judging people based on how well he got along with them. Some would consider this a somewhat short-sighted view. Kenzou did not think so; he was merely comparing everyone he knew to himself. He found that the people who were most like him were the easiest to get along with.

Back in Fujisawa, Kenzou and Shuuichi Kai had rarely interacted with each other outside of class. However, ever since the two of them met up this morning, Kenzou had come to think of Shuuichi as a reliable and trustworthy figure. That was one of the reasons why he was so certain he could get Shuuichi to work with him to win the Program.

Kenzou could tell Shuuichi was reluctant to play the game. Truth be told, he was reluctant, as well. But he wanted to live beyond junior high school. If fighting his classmates to the death was the only way to ensure that future, he would take it.

At this time, he was still pinned down in the alleyway between the two buildings immediately west of City Hall. It had been over fifteen minutes since he helped Shuuichi over the wooden barrier. Ever since that, he had been standing against the wall at the entrance of the alley. He had not looked around the corner in all that time, but he knew the hooded figure was still there. He could almost **feel **the figure's presence.

Kenzou knew it could have been worse. The figure could have moved in on the alley when he helped Shuuichi over the fence. If that happened, they both could have been gunned down without a chance to behind themselves.

Kenzou stood at the entrance of the alley and gripped his Taser in his right hand. Several months earlier, he had watched a television special about the country's police force. One part of the special discussed the proper usage of a Taser. The Japanese policemen used an M-26 model, the same as the one Kenzou had been given. One part of the special had discussed how improper or hostile usage of a Taser can result in fatalities. Kenzou had done a little research after he saw this special, and he discovered that this information was in fact accurate. However, it had never specified which parts of the human body were most vulnerable to the effects of a Taser.

Kenzou had to use what he already knew about the human body to draw his own conclusions on how to use a Taser lethally. He believed that a prolonged shot to the neck or heart would be the most likely to result in death. Of course, he had never put that theory to the test. But he had a feeling that he would have to before long.

For the present, he was just hopeful that Shuuichi was almost all the way around the block. Being in the alleyway was making Kenzou feel profusely uncomfortable. This was partially because he was pinned down, but primarily because he was alone.

"Bad enough to be in peril, and bad enough to be one my own," Kenzou muttered under his breath, "Worst part about being in danger **and **in solitude is that no one is there to watch your back or get you out of trouble."

A moment later, he heard a gunshot go off. Based on the resulting echo, Kenzou could tell that its origin had to be in close proximity to his position. It had to have been fired further up the block. However, it was only a single round, meaning that it must have been fired from a handgun. This realization made Kenzou smirk in satisfaction.

However, a couple moments later, Kenzou heard a round of bullets go off. This made his smirk go away very quickly. It meant the hooded figure was still alive. However, he was firing in the opposite direction. But Kenzou could not even hear the bullets hit anything.

He got a bit bold and turned his head around the corner once more. The figure was still in the center of the road. He had his back to Kenzou, and he was focusing at the end of the street.

Kenzou squinted and saw another person almost a hundred feet away. This person was standing by the northwest corner of City Hall, firing at the hooded figure with a handgun. Kenzou smiled and said "Looks like Shuuichi pulled through after all."

Kenzou did feel a modicum of relief. But the relief faded when he noticed something. The other person's shots missed the hooded figure by a great distance. None of them came even close to hitting the figure with the submachine gun.

Kenzou felt the color drain from his face. He could not believe what he was seeing. Shuuichi had managed to shoot Goro from over a mile away with a rifle, but he could not even hit someone standing a hundred feet away?

It was at this point that Kenzou began doubting his idea that Shuuichi would make a good partner. Evidently, he was not as skilled with firearms as Kenzou thought him to be. If that was the case, Kenzou may have misjudged his character as well. He began to panic; he felt genuinely frightened of what he saw.

His first inclination was to get out of there as quickly as possible. Kenzou began backing out of the alley. He decided to wait until he was a certain distance away to break into a sprint. He walked backwards the entire time, keeping his eyes on the hooded figure.

Before long, the person at the northwest corner of City Hall disappeared around the corner. The hooded figure did not pursue him. Instead, he turned back to the alley.

Unfortunately for Kenzou, he was still out in the open. The hooded figure could see him as clear as daylight. When the figure raised his submachine gun, Kenzou whipped around and ran as fast as he could for the next alley.

The hooded figure fired just as Kenzou ran into the next alley. As soon as he was in it, Kenzou began speedily studying it. This alley was not boarded up, but Kenzou was certain that by the time he made it to the other end, the hooded figure would have arrived at the first entrance.

Kenzou knew that his only option was to hide. But if he broke a window, the assailant would be know where he was hiding. There were not any doors in the alleyway, but there was a ladder which led up to the roof of one of the buildings. Kenzou was a fair climber, but he had a feeling that his pursuer would catch up with him before he even made it halfway up the ladder.

He was desperately running out of options. However, when Kenzou looked further down the alley, he noticed there was a large opening in the building on the right. He looked a little more closely and managed to determine that the opening was actually a garage. Kenzou ran over to the garage and quickly looked over its interiors.

The first thing he noticed was that there were no doors, meaning that he could not get into the building from the garage. However, he noticed a pile of crates stacked against the door. There were eight of them total. Four of them were aligned on the floor at the nearest corner of the room. Two more were stacked on top of the two crates that were positioned further along the wall. The last two crates were piled on top of these two. Their structure gave Kenzou an idea.

He made his way over to the crates and climbed onto the first row. He squeezed his way between the two towers. Then he took one of the crates on top and placed it in front of him. He took the other topmost crate on top and slid it over him so that it was balanced over his head. He left a small crack for on one end for air. Now he was totally hidden in the pile; he even had room for his supply pack and backpack. He just sat there and waited.

About a minute later, he heard footsteps approaching. His attacker had found the garage.

Kenzou could hear the figure walk about the room and look all around it. He must have been looking for a sign that someone had been there. Fortunately, Kenzou had covered his tracks very well. He felt safe for the time being.

A few minutes later, he heard the sound of footsteps leaving the garage. They faded away very quickly. The figure must have been in a hurry. But his business did not concern Kenzou; he was just glad he was still alive.

However, even though he was breathing, he was sweating more. He still felt extremely nervous about what he had just witnessed. The person with the handgun had managed to distract the hooded figure, and indirectly save Kenzou's life in the process. However, they had failed to kill or even wound the hooded figure.

Kenzou thought the other figure had been Shuuichi, but he was very wrong. The person who actually saved Kenzou was a classmate who had never fired a gun before in his life. That was why none of his shots managed to hit the hooded figure.

But Kenzou was convinced that it had been Shuuichi. Because of this, he had officially resolved that Shuuichi was not the person he needed as his partner. He was being to wonder if it really was a good idea to have a partner in the first place.

Kenzou decided to remain hidden for a little while until he was absolutely certain no one was in the area. Then he would get moving and hopefully find some shelter.

For the first time since he left the school that morning, he was on his own.

…

After Kazumitsu Hayashi gave Kaminari Ishida that demonstration with his first Molotov cocktail, they both made themselves busy with expanding their current arsenal. Kazumitsu suggested that Kaminari fill up the empty gas cans while he went to work preparing more Molotov cocktails.

First, he took all the bottles he had on hand out of his supply pack and removed their corks. He had Kaminari use the gas nozzle to fill each of them halfway with gasoline. Once she finished with that, she started filling the gas cans. At the same time, Kazumitsu resumed work on the Molotov cocktails.

He kept himself busy by distributing equal amounts of motor oil between the bottles, tearing off pieces of his towel, soaking them in kerosene, sliding them halfway into the bottles, and then plugging them back up with the corks. These he did not light on fire; he wanted to wait until he needed them for that.

About a half-hour later, they had a total of twenty-six Molotov cocktails and fifteen cans of gasoline. This was about as much as they would be able to carry in the Highlander in one trip. However, they were more than pleased with this turnout. They were confident it would be enough to last them for a good long while.

When Kaminari finally put the nozzle to the gas pump back into its holder, she turned to the screen on the terminal. She whistled in shock when she saw the final amount of money charged to her debit card for all the gasoline she had gathered.

"Unbelievable," she stated, pointing the amount out to Kazumitsu, "I knew that today's gas prices were outrageous, but not **this **outrageous."

"I wouldn't know," was all he said as he smirked in amusement, "I've never had to buy gas before; I don't even have my license yet."

"Actually, I don't have mine either," she remarked, "Truth be told, this was my first time getting gas. I'm just glad my mom showed me how to do it a couple weeks ago."

"I wonder what she'll say when she discovers you spent a small fortune on the stuff," Kazumitsu wondered, "Probably won't be a pretty sight."

"If I'm lucky, she might refuse to let me use my debit card for gas again until I'm eighteen," Kaminari theorized.

"And if you're not lucky?" asked Kazumitsu.

"Then she'll probably wait until I'm thirty," Kaminari wildly guessed.

"I wouldn't worry about it," Kazumitsu assured her, "After all, don't forget that whoever wins the Program leaves it a rich person."

"True," she concurred.

Once the two of them were finished gathering their goods, they began loading the gas cans and the cocktails into the car. The gas cans went on the floor and seats in the secondary back row, and the Molotov cocktails were placed in a straight line on the floor and seats in the primary back row.

When they were done stocking up the car, Kazumitsu and Kaminari stopped to admire their work.

"Quite a stash, don't you think?" stated Kaminari.

"Yeah, I'd say we've got enough stuff here to burn down ten bars," Kazumitsu joked, "But of course, we only need to worry about burning down one."

"Maybe we should go over the plan before we leave," she suggested.

"I was about to say that," he told her. Kazumitsu reached into his jacket and removed the folded piece of paper from before. He opened it up and took his pencil back out of his pocket. Kaminari stood next to him as he began explaining his plan in detail. He gestured to the two darkened areas along the rectangle representing the bar and told her "We'll approach the bar slowly from the south in the car. We'll place six of the gas cans at the front entrance and six more at the back entrance."

"What about the last three?" she enquired.

"We'll distribute their contents along the walls of the foundation," Kazumitsu elucidated, pointing out the rest of the rectangle other than the darkened parts, "You see, if we just put gasoline at the entrances, the fire would not spread very far. But if we splash some gasoline along the bases of the entire perimeter, the whole building would be able to catch on fire very quickly. There would **really **be no escape for them then."

"Makes sense," she commented, "Go on, what were you saying before?"

Kazumitsu pointed out the two groups of squares representing the gas cans and stated "In order for this to work, we'll have to set off the gas cans at exactly the same time. We should each cover one of the entrances. Do you want to cover the front entrance or the back entrance?"

"It doesn't really matter to me," she replied, "But I suppose I'll take the back entrance."

"Alright," he agreed and continued pointing to parts of his map as he went on with "That's perfectly fine with me. In that case, after we've set up the gas cans, I'll stand right here, where the alleyway intercepts the street. We'll both use one of the cocktails to ignite the gas cans. I'll only light them when we're ready. When we're in position, I'll give you the signal. Once that happens, toss your cocktail directly at the back door. I'll throw mine towards the front door at the exact same time."

"Okay, I can do that," she stated, "What happens then?"

Kazumitsu smirked again and told her "We watch and get a cruel laugh at their attempts to escape."

Kaminari was surprised that there was not more to the plan. After all, something as serious and as deadly as arson needed to be handled with meticulousness. She thought about any possible flaw Kazumitsu might have overlooked in the plan. It did not take her long to come up with a few.

"I know that the doors would be blocked by fire, but what about the windows?" she asked, "They may try to break out of the windows once the flames get inside."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that," he assured her, "I examined the windows closely. They're all barred, even the ones in the back rooms. Even I can't break through metal that thick; the others wouldn't stand a chance."

"Alright," Kaminari nodded. Her mind was set at ease a little, but there were still a few things she felt needed to be addressed, "You shouldn't forget about the second floor. They might try getting out that way."

"The door to the second floor is locked," Kazumitsu informed her, "I discovered that when I searched the building. I initially thought about breaking it down myself, but I didn't see any need for it at the time. Besides, even if they do manage to get through that door, it wouldn't do them much good. All the windows on the second floor are barred, too."

"But wasn't there a fire escape on the side of the building?" she recalled.

"Yes, there was," he confirmed, "I saw it when we first arrived at the bar. However, based on its position, it should be directly above the back door. If that's the case, we can keep an eye on it until the entire building's reduced to ash. I doubt they'd make it to the fire escape. But if they do… I'll be ready to test the full capabilities of my flamethrower."

Kaminari realized that Kazumitsu had clearly thought this plan out well beforehand. Then it occurred to her that he would not have come up with it in the first place unless he was absolutely certain it would work. She felt as though she had deeply underestimated him, something she was usually good at avoiding.

"Well, I can't think of anything else we may have overlooked," said Kaminari, "Looks as though everything's in order now."

"Excellent," stated Kazumitsu. He folded the piece of paper back up and slipped it back inside his jacket. Then he put his pencil behind his ear, rubbed his hands together, and said "We may as well get going."

"Sure," she agreed, "But first… I think there's one more thing we need to discuss."

"What might that be?" he enquired.

"It's about our current stash of weapons" Kaminari elucidated, "Seeing as how we'll be using up the gasoline cans really quickly, we will soon be left with just a number of Molotov cocktails. However, the flamethrower is the only weapon we have on us that was supplied to us by the government."

"What were you given?" inquired Kazumitsu.

"A jar of acid," she replied, "I don't remember which type, but Gakuto told me it was extremely corrosive. I left it back at the bar on the counter."

"Alright, then," Kazumitsu thought aloud, "After we take care of the bar, we should probably keep an eye out for more of our classmates. Hopefully, we'll come across somebody with a gun. If we're lucky, we might be able to 'persuade' them to part with it."

"And if we're not lucky?" she asked.

"Then we'll have to pry the gun from their cold, lifeless hands," Kazumitsu answered simply, "Of course, seeing as how we're playing to win, we'd have to kill them anyway. But we may as well test out our negotiations skills when we have the chance."

"Why's that?" said Kaminari.

"Well…" Kazumitsu tentatively began. He was unsure how to respond. He did have his reasons, but he was not certain how Kaminari would react to them. However, he knew he had to be straightforward with her, as she was the only person he was willing to trust. He looked down at her and said "If both of us manage to survive this, Kaminari, I have a good feeling that the only person we'll be able to trust is each other, even when we go back home. I mean, we would not exactly win any popularity contests when it becomes common knowledge that we killed our closest friends and probably several more of our classmates in order to get out of the Program. We wouldn't even be able to start up a gang of our own. But if we still work together in here and out there, we can overcome anything."

Kaminari was impressed by Kazumitsu's reasoning. He was much more astute than she led herself to believe. She felt a little ashamed for having underestimated both his intelligence and his wisdom. Now she was totally confident in his abilities. She was convinced that they really could survive this ordeal.

Thus far, they had based many of their long-term strategies on luck. Luck did indeed seem to be on their side at the time. But they were relying on it too much. Had they left the gas station a couple minutes earlier, luck might have stayed on their side. Their plan to burn down the bar might have actually succeeded.

However, they did not leave the gas station at that time. That was the second most fatal mistake they had made within the past hour. The first one was when they threw a Molotov cocktail at the top of the building across the street.

Kazumitsu and Kaminari were entirely focused on each other as they talked. They did not even notice a shadow appearing near the alley between two buildings across the street. The figure which drew this shadow was slowly stepping into the light. It stopped behind a phone booth and watched the two of them in absolute silence.

"I get all your saying, Kazumitsu," Kaminari told her friend, "There's something else that just occurred to me. We keep talking about how we both might be able to survive the Program, but that only works if one of us kills Blaine. If we do happen to come across him… who should take him out?"

Kazumitsu had not thought about that just yet. He had been so preoccupied with his plans to destroy the bar that he had not considered what to do if he and Kaminari were to encounter Blaine. As much as he wanted to get out of the game as soon as possible, he was not certain that Kaminari would be able to make it to the end on her own. After all, while she was very intelligent, cunning, and feisty, she was not very familiar with handling weapons. Truth be told, he was not very experienced with them either, but he also had his brute strength as an asset. No one else in the class could beat him in a fist fight.

He thought all this over in his head. Just before he had the chance to respond to Kaminari's question, the figure across the street lifted its arm into the air. It held a metallic object which dimly glistened as it entered the sunlight. The figure pointed the object directly at the two of them.

A moment later, a gunshot broke the silence. Kazumitsu jumped in alarm and shouted "What the fuck?"

Kaminari would have been inclined to react the same way. But she did not. Instead, she screamed and dropped to the ground. She had been shot in her upper right leg.

Kazumitsu looked around the area frantically for any sign of another person. He quickly spotted a silhouette near the telephone booth on the other side of the street. The person's right arm was the only part that was in the sunlight. Kazumitsu could see the person was holding a revolver in its right hand.

He ducked for cover right before the figure fired the gun a second time. The bullet missed his head by over two feet, but he felt like only two inches to him. Kazumitsu momentarily broke off his gaze to look down at Kaminari. He could see she was wounded.

"Oh, no, no, no, no," he muttered angrily as he came to her side.

"What… what should I do?" she asked weakly.

"Don't move," Kazumitsu urged her, "I'll get you to safety."

He quickly slipped his right arm under her head and his left arm under her knees. He picked her up with ease and scurried around the car so that the vehicle kept both of them hidden from the figure's line of fire. There he set Kaminari up against the side of the car and whispered to her "Let me see it."

She removed her hands from her injury and showed it to Kazumitsu. The bullet was clearly lodged in her leg. A small trail of blood was starting to leak from the wound.

"Tell me what to do," she begged her friend.

"Just keep it covered," he instructed her, "That's all I can advise for the moment. Just stay down and keep your hands over it. I'll take care of this motherfucker."

She softly nodded her head and kept both her hands over her injury, wincing in slight pain.

Kazumitsu turned his attention to the door to the car's primary backseat. He opened it and pulled out three of the Molotov cocktails. Then he closed the door back up and set two of the cocktails aside. He picked up one of them in his left hand and he picked up the gun to his flamethrower in his right hand. At this point, the gun's flame had been deactivated. He adjusted the flamethrower so that the gun was barely emanating a flame once more. He held the cocktail's wick up to the fire and set it aflame. Once he did, he looked up through the windows to the car's backseat door. He could see the figure was still standing next to the phone booth.

After focusing his attention on the booth, Kazumitsu rose to his full height and chucked the cocktail at the phone booth. It broke through the glass door and the booth burst into flames a few seconds later. Unfortunately for Kazumitsu, the figure managed to move away from the booth just in time.

He watched as the person retreated to the entrance of the alley. This gave him time to prepare another cocktail. He crouched down, picked up the second bottle, used his flamethrower to light the wick, jumped back up, and tossed it towards the alley. The figure jumped out of the way and moved further back the alley. It moved behind a dumpster along the wall of the alley. Once it had taken shelter there, it pointed its gun at Kazumitsu again. It fired another shot, which missed Kazumitsu's shoulder by four inches. He ducked back down again and told Kaminari "I think I go him right where I want him."

"What if he shoots the car and the bullet hits one of the gasoline cans?" she asked him worriedly, "We might go up in flames!"

"Don't worry; he's only shooting at us when we're visible," Kazumitsu assured her, "You'll notice he's not shooting at the car. I don't think he even knows about the gasoline cans. If I'm careful with this next cocktail, I think I can get him."

"Alright, good luck," was all Kaminari said.

Kazumitsu picked up the last cocktail, lit the wick and gazed through the window. He slowly pulled his arm back. Then he jumped up and threw the cocktail as hard as he could. When he saw the figure pointing the gun at him again, he quickly ducked back down. A few seconds later, he heard the sound of glass breaking. Then he heard the sound of the assailant shrieking. To his surprise and Kaminari's, it was a feminine voice!

"Well, I'll be damned," Kazumitsu remarked, "We've been getting the gender wrong this whole time."

"Sounds as though you got her," Kaminari pointed out, trying to sound optimistic, despite the pain in her leg, "Looks like we managed to handle that problem easily enough. We might even have a gun now!"

"That's certainly true," Kazumitsu concurred. A few minutes later, the shrieking stopped and the silence returned. Kazumitsu peered through the windows of the car and saw that the dumpster in the alley was on fire. There was a large mass on the ground that was burning, as well. Initially, Kazumitsu assumed that mass to be the body of the assailant.

"Stay here," he instructed Kaminari, "I'll go investigate."

She nodded her head and remained sitting against the car. Kazumitsu gradually rose to his feet and gazed over at the alley. The flames from the third cocktail were still roaring wildly, encompassing both the dumpster and the mass on the ground.

Kazumitsu cautiously walked around the car and began crossing the street. All his attention was focused on the fires. There must have been something flammable in the dumpster, as the flames were actually getting a little stronger.

The smell of burning garbage quickly filled the air. It was a rather unpleasant odor, but Kazumitsu knew that the scent of burning flesh was much worse. However, he could not smell any burning flesh. He was a little suspicious of this at first, but casually dismissed it. He knew it was possible that sometimes burning garbage could be strong enough to mask any other odor.

However, as he approached the other end of the street, he noticed something quite odd. The mass on the ground started looking less and less human-shaped as he got closer to it. It was widely sprawled out along the ground.

Just as Kazumitsu reached the entrance of the alleyway, he made a grim discovery. The mass turned out to be nothing more than three garbage bags spread out along the ground. From what he could see, there was no sign of a body amongst the rubbish.

Kazumitsu felt a chill run down his spine when he made this discovery. A few seconds later, he heard a metallic clicking sound like a gun being cocked. He nervously looked out of the corner of his eye to the source of the sound.

Standing immediately to his left against the back of the phone booth was Eiko Hirakawa (Girl #17). She was holding a Colt Peacemaker in her right hand and pointing it directly at Kazumitsu's temple. He felt his breath slowly leave him when he saw the grin across her face. It was a grin of pure deceitfulness and amusement.

"Eiko… don't do it…" he implored her quietly.

"Too late for pleading, Kazumitsu," was all she said. Then she pulled the trigger.

Just before this, Kaminari had turned around and sat up to gaze through the windows of the car once more. She looked up just in time to see an arm sticking out from behind the phone booth with a gun. Next thing she knew, the sound of another gunshot filled the air. Less than five seconds later, she saw Kazumitsu stumble backwards off the sidewalk and collapse onto his side in the street. He stayed absolutely still on the ground and did not get up.

Kazumitsu was the largest and strongest student in Class 3-A. Yet in the end, all it took to bring him down was a single bullet from an antique revolver.

Kaminari was horrified when she saw this. A moment later, Eiko stepped out from behind the phone booth and turned in her direction. Kaminari quickly ducked back down, trying to hide herself from her classmate's view.

Of course, her attempt at hiding herself was a lost cause. Eiko had already seen Kazumitsu carry her behind the car; she already knew Kaminari was there. She had been shot, meaning that she would be easy to take down. Eiko was not about to leave behind a witness.

However, Eiko was not certain that Kaminari was unarmed. She was a little hesitant to just charge across the street, go around the car, and face her directly. She decided to take on a more careful approach.

She first got the idea to shoot through the car. Then it occurred to her that a bullet from a gun as old as a Colt Peacemaker would probably not be able to penetrate the chassis of a Toyota Highlander. Plus, she was not certain where exactly Kaminari was hiding. Eiko tried crouching down until her head was almost level to the ground to get a glimpse of what was underneath the car. She still could not see Kaminari from that position. This implied that Kaminari was probably up against the front or back tires. If that was the case, determining her hiding spot would be much easier.

Ultimately, Eiko decided to go ahead and walk towards the car. She pulled back the hammer of her gun again and slowly made her way across the street. About five seconds elapsed between each step she took. It took her almost two full minutes to reach the other end of the street. When she did, she stopped outside the car. Her curiosity got the better of her and she looked inside the vehicle.

She was fascinated to discover that the car was full of Molotov cocktails and gas cans. She realized that Kazumitsu and Kaminari must have had a huge plan in mind. It appeared as if they had plans to commit arson.

Then it occurred to her just how flammable gasoline really was. Just a tiny spark of fire would have been enough to cause the contents of the car to explode to pieces. This gave her an idea. She stepped back a few meters, pointed her gun at the car, and called out "I know you're there, Kaminari. Come on out or I'll blow the car sky high!"

There was no answer at first. But then Kaminari shouted "You think I'm stupid, Eiko? You shot Kazumitsu!"

"That's true," Eiko coldly responded, "If I remember correctly, I shot you as well. But only in the leg. I intend to finish what I started. So I'd suggest you come out and accept your fate."

"And if I don't?" Kaminari yelled furiously.

"Then I'll shoot the gasoline cans," was the other girl's answer, "You're going to die, Kaminari. There's no way you'll leave this place alive. But I'll let you choose your fate. Either death by gunshot, or death by fire. I can promise you that if you pick the first option, I'll make it as painless as possible. You've got one minute to decide."

Eiko lowered her gun and stepped back a little further. Then she waited patiently for Kaminari to make her choice.

Thirty seconds later, she thought she heard one of the car's doors open. This suspicion was confirmed when the interior lights came on. Eiko raised her revolver back into the air and pointed it towards the car. She was prepared to fire as soon as her opponent came in sight.

A moment later, Kaminari rose up and threw something at Eiko. The rich girl dodged the projectile just before it smashed to pieces against the ground behind her. Kaminari had thrown an unlit Molotov cocktail at her. Eiko realized she must have pulled a few of them out of the backseat of the car.

When Eiko looked back over at Kaminari, the latter was ready to throw another cocktail. Eiko fired another shot, but ended up hitting Highlander's secondary backseat row window instead. Kaminari threw a second cocktail directly at her opponent's head. Eiko moved out of the way once more, but she almost tripped over herself. She stumbled, but managed to recover in time. By then, Kaminari was upon her. She waved a third cocktail directly at Eiko's head. Eiko ducked down and fought back.

A moment later, the two of them were almost literally at each other's throats. Kaminari tried over and over to break the third cocktail against Eiko's head. Eiko kneed her in the chest, causing her to drop the cocktail. It landed on the ground, but did not shatter.

The two girls continued to struggle for almost forty seconds. Kaminari tried to wrestle Eiko's gun away from her. However, Eiko was only holding her revolver in her right hand. With Kaminari's attention focused on that hand, Eiko clenched her left hand into a fist. Using all her might, she punched Kaminari directly in the stomach. Kaminari stopped struggling and dropped back. She had had the wind knocked out of her. When Eiko realized this, she slowly sat up and smirked in satisfaction.

That blow to the stomach had temporarily rendered Kaminari incapable of fighting back or even moving very much, but her gunshot wound in the leg was not fatal. It would have taken her days to bleed to death with that injury. Eiko was determined to speed that up. She pointed her gun at Kaminari again. But when she pulled the trigger, the hammer just clicked back.

Eiko was confused at first, but then realized something. She had already fired a total of six bullets that day. The first one killed Kazuki, the second one was in Kaminari's leg, the third and fourth ones were near misses, the fifth one killed Kazumitsu, and the sixth one had shattered one of the car's windows. The chamber to her gun was empty.

She thought about reloading her gun and shooting Kaminari again, but she only had so many bullets. She wanted to save as many of them as possible for the future, as she was certain she would have greater need for them at some point. She wanted to think up another way to deal with Kaminari.

Eiko noticed the unbroken cocktail on the ground, and then she saw that Kazumitsu's flamethrower was still emanating a flame. This gave her another idea. She rose to her feet, picked up the cocktail, walked over to Kazumitsu's body, and held the wick of the bottle up to the front of the flamethrower gun. Once it caught fire, she turned back around.

Kaminari was lying against the side of the car. She still could barely even move, but it would not be long before she caught her breath. Eiko could see the secondary backseat window had been shattered by her last gunshot. She recalled that that seat was the one with the gas cans. Eiko concentrated her attention on the open window and tossed the cocktail gracefully towards it. Immediately after she threw it, she turned around and dove for cover behind the phone booth.

A second later, a deafening explosion filled the air. It was followed by a terrible shrilling sound. The explosion only lasted a couple moments, but the screaming went on for a while.

Eiko stepped back out and saw that roaring fires encompassed the Highlander. Kaminari was engulfed in the flames on the ground. There was nothing she could do to put them out. She was too weak to even roll on the ground.

A minute later, she stopped shrieking and convulsing altogether. She was as still as Kazumitsu. Her body and clothes were still burning for several minutes after she stopped moving.

Eiko slowly stepped back out into the open. She looked around the area and smugly smiled in satisfaction of what she had just done. She had caught two of her classmates unawares and taken both of them down all on her own.

She would have stayed around to investigate the area, but she knew it would be a bad idea. She had a feeling that some of her classmates may have heard the gunshots and the explosion. She was not going to stay around and wait for another person to come her way; two kills in one place was enough for her.

Eiko turned down the street and began walking to the north. Once she was gone, all that remained in the area were two bodies and one fire-immersed vehicle.

**Boy #16 Kazumitsu Hayashi – Dead**

**Girl #2 Kaminari Ishida – Dead**

**29 Students Remaining**


	23. Tragedy Befalls

About ten minutes earlier, Blaine Rhodes, Kiyomi Takayama (Girl #12), and Tatsuo Inoue (Boy #2) had been standing at the windows to the mayor's office. They had been standing there for close to a half-hour. From this position, they had witnessed the entire encounter between Shuuichi Kai, Kenzou Iwamoto, and the mysterious figure in the streets below.

Even though the second floor was well-above ground level and the windows were shut and locked, none of the three of them had dared to utter a single word. They merely gazed on in total silence as the assault below unfolded.

The three friends were unable to identify any of the three boys on the ground below, but something about the hooded one looked oddly familiar to Blaine. He was surprised that the figure did not move in on the two boys after they retreated into the alleyway. After all, they were pinned down and vulnerable to an attack from a submachine gun.

Blaine initially assumed that the hooded figure was taking precautions; maybe one of the other two boys also had a gun. If that was the case, the hooded figure must have been quite intelligent to be so directly violent and protectively cautious at the same time.

Blaine and the others felt a modicum of relief when one of the boys helped the other over the wooden wall that boarded up the center of the alley. However, while the second boy may have been safe, the other was still trapped.

For fifteen minutes, nothing happened in the street or in the office. The tension was almost unbearable to all parties involved. Just when Blaine thought the situation could not get any **more **intense, he heard the sound of another gun discharging.

These new gunshots echoed around the block, but Blaine managed to determine the point of origin as somewhere near the northern end of the street. He leaned forward a little and tried to get a look further down the road. But no matter how hard he looked, he could not see the other shooter. Whoever it was, he or she must have been hiding around the corner of the block on the City Hall side of the street.

A few moments later, the hooded figure let loose another round of shots at the northern end of the street. Blaine, Kiyomi, and Tatsuo turned back to the figure and watched him closely. While the two gunmen exchanged their fire, Blaine spotted the boy who had remained in the alley. He was slowly backing out of it while keeping his eye on the gunfight.

At one point, the gunshots from down the street stopped. Shortly after that happened, the hooded figure turned back around and saw his original victim out in the open. Blaine had half an urge to shout "RUN!" But he restrained that desire, as he knew it would do no good. Besides, the boy being hunted did not need any encouragement. As soon as his stalker spotted him, he turned around and darted down the street. The hooded figure pursued him close behind.

Both of them disappeared inside another alleyway. Blaine, Tatsuo, and Kiyomi watched the alley entrance intently. However, they did not hear any more gunshots, meaning that the first boy may have successfully evaded the hooded figure.

It was either that, or one of them had managed to kill the other without even needing a gun. Blaine was hoping it had been the first scenario.

Now that the streets were empty once more, there was no reason for Blaine, Tatsuo, and Kiyomi to continue standing at the window. The three of them turned around and sat up against the wall. Their thoughts were fixed on the attack they had just observed. They were shocked to have witnessed such a thing, but they were not necessarily surprised by it.

Finally, it was Tatsuo who broke the silence. He turned to Blaine and asked him "Well, what do you think of that, Blaine?"

"What do you mean?" was Blaine's response.

"That was the first time you've ever seen the real horrors of the Program," Tatsuo informed him, "What are your thoughts?"

Blaine thought a moment before he told his best friend "As much as I would like to deny that I saw what just happened in the streets below, I cannot really say I did not see it coming. After all, under these conditions, I suppose anything can happen and nothing can be taken for granted."

"Exactly," Tatsuo agreed, "I first watched part of a Program when I was eight years old. My older sister had invited some of her friends over to watch it with her. I managed to sneak into the room at one point. I only saw one death, but the sight of it has been etched into my brain."

"What was your reaction to it?" asked Blaine.

"I would call it 'perplexed,'" Tatsuo replied, "I'd call it that… because the only thing I recall from that time was wondering 'is it even **possible **for someone to bleed that much?'"

Blaine and Kiyomi cringed in disgust, and the latter of them commented "That's terrible, Tatsuo."

Tatsuo merely sighed and leaned back against the wall. Then he said "We've just witnessed a sign that this Program might end no more pleasantly than the ones preceding it. Like I said before, it's a shame to see such waste. Not only does the Program throw away a great deal of talent and potential, but it also causes perfectly healthy minds to go awry."

"I know what you mean," Kiyomi remarked, "I was expecting someone to go crazy, but not like **that**."

"At least no one got killed just now," Blaine pointed out, "I know that's little assurance to what's going on, but still, it is something to be grateful for."

"I'm inclined to agree," stated Tatsuo, "I just hope that psychopath with the submachine gun doesn't come back here anytime soon."

"You and me both," Kiyomi concurred. There was another short interval of silence; then Kiyomi stated "Who do you suppose that was, anyway?"

"To be honest, I have no idea," Tatsuo responded, "But guessing on the posture and the seemingly-professional usage of the firearm, my guess is that it was another of our male classmates. I mean, I've never known a woman who could handle a submachine gun like that."

Kiyomi glared at Tatsuo out of the corner of her eye and said "I hope that's not a shot, Tatsuo."

He scoffed and remarked "It isn't, Kiyomi. I wouldn't exactly consider the ability to handle a firearm like a submachine gun something to brag about. Especially under the current circumstances."

Kiyomi's scowl went away and she replaced it with a light smile. Then she stated "I guess you make a pretty good point there."

Blaine rubbed his chin for a few moments and thought aloud "I think there actually was something about that figure that stood out to me."

"How so?" asked Kiyomi.

"Well, this is only a hunch…" answered Blaine, "But that sweatshirt he was wearing… I could have sworn I've seen it somewhere before."

"Really?" said Tatsuo.

"Yeah, but because the hood was drawn, I couldn't make out his face at all," remarked Blaine.

"Not many people go around with black sweatshirts at Keio University," commented Tatsuo, "I doubt the bookstore on campus sells anything outside of blue or red."

"I don't think that sweatshirt **was **Keio University issue," Blaine retorted, "I've been to the bookstore several times, and I've seen the sweatshirts, sweatpants, and everything of the sort they have to offer. But they have a much different design than that black sweatshirt that person was wearing. In fact, I got a good look at it, and I almost looked like it was from America."

"Who would be wearing an American sweatshirt here in Japan?" queried Kiyomi.

"I don't know," Blaine answered, "But… I could have sworn I ordered one of those as a gift for somebody in this class at one time or another."

This quickly caught Tatsuo and Kiyomi's attention. They leaned closer and asked Blaine "Who? Who was it?"

Blaine thought back as hard as he could, but at that moment he could not recall who is was he bought that sweatshirt for.

"I'll try my hardest to remember," he told Tatsuo and Kiyomi, "If it comes back to me, I'll let you know."

Kiyomi and Tatsuo agreed to this arrangement. The silence of earlier returned to the room as the three of them leaned against the wall.

After another minute in silence, Tatsuo looked around the room as if something felt out of place to him. A moment later, he suddenly stated "Where's Yuuga?"

This snapped Blaine and Kiyomi to attention. In all the turmoil, they had almost forgotten that Yuuga had been in the room with them when the first gunshots had been fired by the hooded figure. The three of them stood up and looked all over the room; their empathic classmate was nowhere to be found.

"I thought he was with Blaine," Kiyomi recalled.

"He was," the American scholar confirmed, "At the very least, he entered the room with me. I was too focused on what was happening outside to notice anything else."

Tatsuo drew his Luger out of his holster and suggested "Maybe we should go look for him."

"I agree," stated Blaine, "But don't take out your gun, Tatsuo; this isn't a manhunt."

"True," was all Tatsuo said as he slid his gun back into the holster.

Before any of them could make a move across the room, the doorknob to the mayor's office door slowly started turning. Tatsuo did not draw his gun again, but he kept his fingers wrapped around the handle in case he had to use it.

He was not the only one who reacted as such. At approximately the same time, Blaine gripped the straps of his shotgun while Kiyomi reached for her revolver. The three of them waited for the door to open.

A few seconds later, the doorknob stopped turning altogether and the door creaked open. Once it was fully opened, the three students came face-to-face with Yuuga Suzuki (Boy #11).

They eased down a bit when they saw Yuuga was alright, but when they got a closer look at him, they became a little concerned. He was sweating, he was a little red in the face, and he was taking in very deep breathes. It almost appeared as though he had been running.

"Where'd you go?" Kiyomi asked her friend, "We were worried."

Yuuga did not answer them straight away, but ultimately, he told them "I… left the room during that fifteen-minute interval of silence. I wanted to see if I could get a closer look at that hooded figure from another room in the building. When I heard another round of bullets go off further up the street, I tried to find a room where I could get a good view of **that **person."

"Care to explain why you look so winded?" Tatsuo requested.

"I was in a hurry to find a proper view before the second shooter disappeared," Yuuga claimed, "I went from room to room as fast as I could while the gunshots went on. But each room yielded unsatisfactory results. When the gunshots stopped, I decided to go ahead and throw in the towel."

"You didn't have to do that in the first place, Yuuga," stated Kiyomi.

"I know, but I wanted to," Yuuga countered, "If there is a chance for us to know who else is playing, I figured it would be worth the risk."

At this point, Tatsuo and Kiyomi had chosen to accept Yuuga's story, but Blaine was not buying it. He knew that Yuuga was no athlete, but he doubted that anyone could look so exhausted simply after running around a building. He had a feeling that there was something Yuuga was not telling them; something he probably did not want his friends to know about.

Blaine was determined to find out the truth of the matter. But he decided that that could wait for later. Maybe once the tension died down a little.

He walked over to Yuuga and patted him on the back, saying "Good job, Yuuga. Even if you didn't find out that gunman's identity, I suppose we should at least give you some credit for trying."

Yuuga smirked and stated "Thanks, Blaine. By the way, now that the area is calm and peaceful once more, do you want to head down to the bomb shelter?"

At first, Blaine was a little confused by this question, but he thought back to what he and Yuuga had been discussing before the gunfight in the streets had taken place. Yuuga had offered to teach him some methods to hold better control over his emotions. For the sake of privacy, Yuuga had requested that they do the exercise down in the bomb shelter.

After what he just observed, Blaine was really starting to feel as though those lessons would be very useful. He looked Yuuga in the eye and told him cockily "Lead on, sensei."

Just before the two of them exited the mayor's office, a strange rumbling sound momentarily filled the area around them. This was followed by a short vibration of the ground.

The four classmates stood in stunned silence when the noise and tremor passed over.

"What was that?" stated Kiyomi.

"I have no idea," remarked Tatsuo, "Maybe it was the world's shortest earthquake."

"No, I doubt that was an earthquake," Blaine disputed, "That almost sounded like… an explosion. Like a grenade went off or something."

"I don't think a grenade would cause the ground to shake like that," Yuuga pointed out, "Not unless it was dropped to the ground immediately before detonation, and if it was relatively close to City Hall."

Blaine just took a deep breath and let it out. Then he told the others "I think it's best not to worry ourselves about this sort of thing for now. For the present, we should take advantage of our safety and our solitude while we can."

"He's right," Tatsuo decided. He turned to Kiyomi and told her "Let's see if we can keep ourselves busy while Blaine and Yuuga work."

She agreed to this proposal and the two of them went back to organizing and fortifying the mayor's office. At the same time, Yuuga and Blaine left the mayor's office and headed over to the bomb shelter's entrance.

The four of them had indeed found some peace for the time-being. In fact, they were considerably better off than the majority of their classmates.

Had they been standing outside the building just a minute earlier, they would not have been as calm or tranquil. The rumbling sound would have been up to five times louder, and the tremors at least twice as intense. As Blaine had theorized, the rumbling sound and vibration had indeed been caused by an explosion.

The source of this explosion had involved a certain vehicle parked outside the gas station in F-4.

…

When the explosion in F-4 took place, everyone who had been standing outside and in close proximity to the vicinity had heard it as clear as day.

Tomoe Yamakawa (Girl #21) had been the closest to the gas station. She had been crossing a street about a half-mile south of the gas station. The explosion took her completely by surprise. A few moments after she heard it, she turned to the north and stared in stunned silence.

When she saw smoke rising in the distance, she turned to the south and ran as fast as she could in the opposite direction. She ran at a steady pace for over five minutes. She did not pause once to take a break or slow down her step. She did not look back at all, even for a second, until she was absolutely certain she was out of harm's way.

Tomoe was probably the fastest runner in the entire class. Had anyone else been standing on the sidewalk on that same street, all they have seen was a person flashing by like a roadrunner.

Tomoe was actually one of the fastest people at Keio Shonan-Fujisawa Junior High School. She had been on track for years, and she had been chosen to represent her school in the Kanagawa Prefecture track finals for the past three years. She even won the finals the previous year.

A lot of people considered Tomoe to be a rather hyperactive and energetic person; this facet was mostly attributed to her speed. Truth be told, Tomoe actually was a typically bouncy and optimistic character. She was one of those people you always see smiling, even in times of hardship. While she was coming to terms with the dangers of the Program, she was still trying to remain in high spirits. But even for her, that was difficult; it is hard to think positively when one's life is on the line.

All the same, she tried focusing on the bright side. She was particularly grateful for her speed now that she was in the Program; she was certain it would help her get out of many sticky situations, and maybe even avoid a few along the way.

But she was not looking to avoid all encounters with her classmates. There were three people she was keeping an eye out for.

In addition to track, Tomoe was also a member of Keio University cheerleading squad. She belonged to a small clique with three other girls in Class 3-A. These girls were Chiaki Iwasaki (Girl #4),Yuriye Sakaguchi (Girl #9), and Shizuye Chida (Girl #14). She had been friends with them for a long time, and she was hopeful that they were safe.

Tomoe had been the last member of her clique and the third-to-last of the entire class to leave the school. Because of this, she had no idea where her friends could be. She had spent the majority of her time that day scouting around the city, looking for them. In fact, she had only been in G-4 for a couple hours before she heard the explosion.

In the first few hours of the Program, she had searched through most of the northeastern section of the city. She would have attempted to cover all of it, but she cut her search short at around four o'clock when she almost ran into two of her classmates in B-9.

These two classmates had been driving a Toyota Highlander around the city. They had been running without headlights and under a speed of twenty miles per hour. It was still dark outside at that time; Tomoe did not even see them coming until they were less than thirty feet away. Fortunately, they just drove right past her with decelerating; they must not have noticed her.

Tomoe decided to head off to the western part of the city after this. She found it rather peculiar how anyone would think of operating a car in the Program. Obviously, the person behind the wheel was being cautious by not using headlights or driving too quickly.

Tomoe did not suspect for a second that that same car was involved in the explosion she had just heard.

After this, she headed to the west. To conserve her energy, she ran at a slightly less moderate pace. It was late morning by the time she reached the opposite side of the city.

Around ten-thirty, when the loudspeakers made that unscheduled broadcast, Tomoe had stopped to listen to the song that played. She was unable to make out what the people were saying, but for some reason, listening to that song reinforced her hope a bit. The music made her feel a little better about the dilemma she was in.

However, she was drawn away from the area shortly after the announcement by a series of gunshots that originated in C-2. While Tomoe was no expert in firearms, the shots sounded like they were from a long-range weapon.

That was what incited Tomoe to head off to the south. She had arrived in G-4 about two hours earlier. She was in the midst of searching some of the buildings for her friends when she heard the explosion in F-4. This alarmed her even more than the car and the gunshots put together. She was immediately inclined to run in the other direction.

This time, she was not running for exercise, to have fun, or out of haste. Instead, for the first time ever, she was running because of fear; she was running **from **something.

Eventually, Tomoe reached the southern border of G-4. When she made it that far, she stopped to catch her breath. Any further and she would have overexerted herself.

She decided to seek refuge inside a restaurant nearby. She entered it tentatively and looked around for signs of recent entry. When she saw no one else was there, she stepped inside and shut the door behind her.

She collapsed onto a bench by the front entrance and took a few deep breaths.

"I don't think I've ever run that fast, even at the track finals," she muttered to herself, "Imagine if we held one of our meets here."

While Tomoe was still a little shocked, she had held onto her sense of humor.

She reached down to her supply pack, opened it up, and removed a bottle of water. As a member of the track team, she knew it was important to keep the body hydrated. Of course, she also knew that her water supply was limited, so she was rationing it to make certain she did not run out.

Tomoe unscrewed the cap of the water bottle, lifted it up to her mouth, and took a long swig. She savored the plain taste of the cool, clean liquid. She had not drunk anything all day, even though she had been outside running ever since she left the school. To her, the water tasted like a bit of paradise in the living hell around her.

When the bottle was half-empty, Tomoe removed her lips from it and screwed the cap back on. Then she reached into the pocket of her jacket and pulled out the watch she had been supplied with. It was a little after four o'clock in the afternoon.

"Damn, I've missed both breakfast and lunch," she commented, "Better have something to eat if I want to keep my strength up."

Tomoe reached into her supply pack and extracted a loaf of bread.

She found it a little ironic how she was eating low-rate bread while she had taken shelter in a restaurant. For a moment, she considered going to the kitchen and examining the contents of the pantry and the freezer. She ended up deciding against it; she did not want to get too comfortable in any one place while the Program was going on. However, because she had been outside all day, Tomoe decided to stay in the restaurant until the evening announcements. That would give her almost two hours to rest.

Before she started eating, Tomoe removed two objects from around her shoulders. The first was her backpack, which she had been carrying on her back the entire time she had been outside. The second object was her weapon.

Tomoe had only stopped one other time that day for more than five minutes. Shortly after leaving the school and clearing C-5, she had stopped at a random building to check her supply pack. She was stunned to discover that she had been given a type of military rifle.

She had fished out the manual to her gun and read up on her weapon. It was an M16 rifle, which was the United States military's version of the AR-15 rifle. The model Tomoe had received was an M16A2. This model had been used very often by the American military ever since the 1980s. It was approximately 39.5 inches long; the barrel made up around half that length. It had a gas-operated, rotating bolt action and it fired rounds at 3,200 feet per second. It could fire anywhere from twelve to fifteen rounds on a sustained setting and anywhere from forty-five to sixty rounds on semi-automatic.

The feed system was a 30-round box magazine which held 5.56x45mm NATO cartridges. Tomoe had decided to load one of the magazines up and then load it into her rifle. She was hoping she would not have to use it anytime soon, but she wanted it at the ready in case she ran into any trouble.

Even when loaded, the rifle weighed less than ten pounds. Whenever she trained for the track meets, Tomoe liked to carry weights on her back as a bit of a challenge. Because of this, she was easily able to carry her backpack and her rifle on her back without much difficulty.

Now, she was just glad to take a break after running all over the city.

As Tomoe ate, she pulled her map out of her supply pack. She had marked off the danger zones, as well as all the places in the city she visited so far. She covered quite a large percentage of the city in just half a day.

Up until this point, Tomoe had not found a single indication that her friends had been anywhere she looked. She was a little glad that none of them had been mentioned in the announcements yet, but she knew full well that as the body count rose, so did the chances that one of her friends would be next.

Tomoe did not have any plans outside of locating her friends, but as she studied the map a little more closely, she began wondering about certain things. Could the military have overlooked something? Could it be possible for someone to somehow escape from the city without the army noticing? Was there a way to remove the collars safely?

Most people would have been inclined to answer "no" to all those questions, but being as cheerful as Tomoe was, she always believed there was a way out of every situation, no matter how dismal it looked. She had an idea to contemplate the beginning of an escape plan before she continued her search through the city. She was not expecting to come up with a plan so quickly, especially while she was on her own. All the same, she was determined to try. At the very least, she wanted to begin developing some ideas of escape while she had the opportunity to do so.

As she studied her map, Tomoe whispered to herself "We'll get out of this. I just know we will. When I find the others, everything will be alright."

…

Teru Machida (Boy #19) had been very busy in the past few hours. Ever since ten-thirty, he had been working almost non-stop on his plan to sabotage the Program. He was putting every available resource he had to good use.

He decided to begin by making the foundation that would hold his harpoon rifle. He gathered the lumber and tools he had taken from the carpentry shop in C-7 and spread them out in an organized manner. Once he did this, he began drawing up some blueprints for the foundation. He came up with several different design models before he came up with one he was completely certain would work.

He then walked over to the edge of the roof and observed the school from his position. He wanted to find the spot that was directly south of the satellite dish on the school roof. Once he found that spot, he selected it for the place where he would build the foundation.

He wasted no time in building the foundation itself. He had all the necessary equipment and designs on hand; as long as he followed the schematics and utilized his resources efficiently, he was confident that he could make a stable base for his weapon.

Teru was not as skilled in carpentry as he was in writing computer codes; it took him over two hours to set up the foundation. To him, it was perhaps the most difficult part of his entire plan; that was the primary reason he wanted to get it done before anything else. It was always better to do the hardest thing first.

Fortunately, he had learned a few useful things in engineering class. Once he started building the foundation, everything quickly came together from there. He set down all the blanks and nailed them into the roof. The roof of the police station was surprisingly flexible and supportive of the rest of the contraption.

Ultimately, Teru had set up an apparatus that was about two feet long, two feet wide, and two feet tall. He had attached two metallic clips on the top of the base. These clips were what would hold the harpoon rifle in place.

As soon as the foundation was complete, he had fastened his rifle to the top of it. He adjusted it so that the rifle was aimed directly at the school's satellite dish. Once he had the harpoon rifle lined up, he took his computer and wrote a program to calculate the rifle's trajectory. Based on the figures that resulted, the harpoon would theoretically strike the direct center of the satellite dish.

Teru's goal was for the harpoon to strike the base of the satellite dish. However, he was very pleased with the results he found from the figures. This was because he would not be firing a harpoon by itself. In order to properly transmit the disruption code to the school, he needed to tie one end of an electric cable to the head of the harpoon, and then attach the other end of the cable to a port in the side of his computer. The cable had to be connected to both objects in order for Teru's plan to work. That was why he had left the harpoon in its current position; the weight of the cable would compensate for the trajectory. In that setting and with that added weight, the harpoon would certainly strike the base of the satellite dish. In order for this to be possible, the cable had to be over a hundred feet long. He managed to find such a cable at the computer store. But he was not going to attach it to the harpoon or the computer until he wrote the code.

There was one more thing he needed to see to before he got to work. He took one of his harpoons and wrapped all but one of the ends of it in some aluminum foil, which he had found downstairs. He was quite surprised to find aluminum foil in a police station, but he had seen stranger things. Once he had the harpoon wrapped up, he took a CD burner he had taken from the computer store, plugged it into the wall, and yanked out the ejection port. Then he inserted the end of the harpoon wrapped in foil into the port.

Teru knew that an ordinary metal rod would not be able to transmit a code. A charged metal rod, on the other hand, could do just that. That was what the whole business with the aluminum foil and the CD burner was about. He had developed a type of makeshift charger for the harpoon. He decided to leave the harpoon as it was and to let it charge while he rewrote his disruption code.

By one o'clock that afternoon, he finished with the foundation. He had only stopped working once, and that was to listen to the noon announcements.

He was very pleased to discover that he had ticked off Furutani and the soldiers. Obviously that little "slicing" incident of his had caused quite a stirrup at the school.

Teru was still in awe of how easily it had been for him to break into the Program's loudspeaker network and play a recording. He thought back to the specific song he had run on the announcements. He had chosen to play "Do You Hear The People Sing" over the loudspeakers for a very practical reason. He had been a fan of Victor Hugo for a long time. He had first read _Les Misérables_ when he was eight years old, and he saw the musical when he was eleven. Even though both versions were loaded with adult themes, he understood everything that was going on in both versions.

His favorite part had always been the insurrection in France. From what he knew, it had been started by idealistic students living in Paris. Those students had fought to protect their country from its own government, which they believed was slowly becoming corrupt. Similarly, many students living in Japan secretly despised parts of their own country's governments as well. The ones that were unfortunate enough to end up in the Program downright **hated **the government.

That was why Teru decided to play "Do You Hear The People Sing" over the loudspeakers. In the musical, the students sang this song to rally the citizens of Paris to their cause. That was why it was considered by many to be one of the most inspirational songs ever written. Teru had played it because he felt there might be a chance that some of his classmates might get its central message and decide to resist the Program just as he was doing. Of course, he knew that that was much easier said than done, but he was keeping his hopes high.

He played the English version of the song because he always preferred the original version over the Japanese version. It sounded much more pleasant and harmonious. When he heard that the British and the Americans were making a movie version of the musical, he looked up dates for when it would be playing in Japan. He found that the movie would not be available in Japan for a few months, but he was willing to wait that long to see it.

Of course, there was a good chance he would never see the movie now. But that just gave him more reason to try and escape the Program.

When Teru reminisced on what he had done that morning, he scoffed and remarked "I wonder what Tsukasa thought of that. I'll bet he liked it."

As soon as he said that, he frowned and sighed. He remembered something else that had been in the noon announcements. One of Teru's friends from the drama club, Tsukasa Yoshizawa, had been listed amongst the dead.

Several students in Class 3-A thought of Tsukasa as little more than a pompous ass. While he was a fantastic actor, he had a reputation for being very difficult to work with. Because of that, Blaine Rhodes liked to refer to him as "the Japanese Dustin Hoffman."

Teru was certain that some people were not upset at all by Tsukasa's death. Even if that was the case with them, it was not so with him. Teru was one of the few people in Class 3-A that Tsukasa thought of as a friend. He respected him as an equal and did not treat him as an inferior.

For a long time, the two of them had been part of a trio, the third person being Riyeko Imamura (Girl #3). The three of them were the most renowned members of the drama club at Keio-Shonan Fujisawa Junior High School. They spent a lot of time together both in and out of class.

Teru was at the very least glad that Riyeko was still alive. There was a chance that he could still save her. That was another thing that kept him going.

While Teru was deeply saddened by Tsukasa's death, he did not lose sight of his objectives. He knew there would be time for mourning over Tsukasa later. For the present, he had a code to rewrite.

He took his backpack, pulled out an envelope labeled "Java," and turned his attention back to his laptop. He tore open one end of the envelope, removed a CD, pressed the button on the ejection port, and inserted the CD. Then he pushed the port back into place.

He quickly went to work installing the Java software onto the laptop. As he predicted, it took about a half-hour total to set it all up.

Once it was up and running, Teru took his flash drive out of his pocket and plugged the flash drive into the port on the side of his computer. It only took a few moments for the laptop to recognize the device. Once it did, he opened up his files and selected the one he needed.

Now that he had everything set up properly, he could finally start rewriting the disruption code. He knew that he had no time to lose; he needed to get this project done as soon as possible.

Teru spent the next three hours working on the disruption code. He barely turned his eyes away from the screen in all that time. He kept all his equipment nearby in case he needed anything. When he got hungry, he simply reached into his supply pack, got some bread, and ate it. When he got thirsty, he merely took some water from the supply pack and drank it. At one point, he found himself getting a little tired out of all the monotony of the situation. Doing nothing but typing was not nearly as enthralling as he thought it would be. He needed something to entertain his mind as he worked.

That problem was easy enough to solve. Earlier on, Teru had been listening to the original Broadway cast of _Les Misérables_. He always enjoyed listening to it; while the musical was all about the most depressing facets of life, listening to the soundtrack soothed Teru in a very peculiar way. Maybe it was just the music and lyrics themselves that he enjoyed.

Regardless of that, he decided to go ahead and play the soundtrack. He took his headphones out of his backpack, slid them over his ears, and plugged the cord into the side of his laptop. Then he brought up the music playlist and selected the _Les Misérables _soundtrack.

Teru turned up the volume so that all he could hear was the soundtrack. He found himself in the ideal frame of mind for working without any more interruptions.

He spent the next two hours working on the disruption code, barely taking his eyes off the screen at all.

At around four o'clock, he was about three-quarters done with rewriting the code. Like building the foundation for his harpoon rifle, rewriting the cod was taking a lot more time than he originally thought. Then again, he knew that things rarely go according to plan. But he had made himself a schedule; he wanted to stick to it as best he could.

As Teru worked, he wondered how Toshioru and Gakuto were doing. He hoped that the two of them were having as much success in their plans as he was. He knew full well that if his plan was going to work, he would need as much assistance as possible from his surviving classmates.

He thought about the situation carefully. Even if he did manage to shut down the school's electricity grid, he would only have about twenty minutes maximum until the backup generators kicked in. He would need at least five minutes to slice into the loudspeaker network again and make an announcement to his classmates. By the time anyone got there, the soldiers would have likely recovered from the blackout.

Teru realized that he needed to have an alternative option on hand if that was the case. If it came down to it, he needed to be prepared to take out the school on his own. He carefully considered a few possible ways this strategy could be executed.

Teru did not have anything substantially destructive on hand. He knew Gakuto and Toshirou had plans to make nitroglycerin; he had nothing of the sort in his possession. However, the thought of how destructive nitroglycerin could be gave Teru an idea.

He knew that nitroglycerin was a very powerful explosive. A certain quantity of it would be enough to destroy a building. Teru wondered: what else has the ability to destroy a building that way?

The answer came to him very quickly. He knew full well that gasoline was capable not only of destroying a building, but also setting it on fire. If he gathered up enough of it, perhaps he could use it to set the school on fire. While Teru had no plan to harm any of his classmates, he would have gladly killed Furutani and his soldiers if he had the opportunity.

"That's it," he said to himself, "If need be, I'll set the school on fire. First things first, though; where do I get the gasoline from?"

Teru checked his map and found a gas station in F-4. He was certain that the station would be well-supplied, even after the evacuation.

"Alright, slight change of plan," Teru spoke to himself, "As soon as I'm done here, I'll make a quick run by the gas station, grab as many gas tanks as I can carry, fill them up, and bring them here. Then I'll get back to work. If worse comes to worst, I won't even need the gas cans. But it will help to have them on hand. Better safe than sorry."

Teru felt quite confident that this addendum to his plan was a good idea. After all, he never went through with anything unless he was certain it would work.

Teru made this modification to his plan at approximately four o'clock. He still had his headphones over his ears at that time. Had he removed them, he might have heard the explosion. If that was the case, he might have also been able to determine the explosion's point of origin as F-4. Then he would have known to stay away from the gas station.

…

The noise of the explosion at the gas station could be heard from miles away in every direction. Of course, the further away one was, the quieter the explosion sounded.

Maki Nakamura (Girl #15) had been standing on the roof of a five-story building a few miles north-southeast of the location – H-8 specifically – at the time of the explosion. From her position, it barely sounded like anything more than a lone firecracker.

Regardless of how silent the explosion had been at that distance, Maki managed to determine the direction the sound had originated from. From the top of the building, she turned towards the source of the noise and squinted her eyes a little to focus her attention.

A few minutes later, she saw smoke rising from behind a group of buildings. As Maki knew full-well, where there's smoke, there's fire. She began speculating on what the cause of the fire may have been, as well as who could have started it.

Her first theory was that someone may have tried to burn down a building. If that was the case, she could not tell whether or not they succeeded. She next hypothesized that someone had ignited a gas valve and used it to cut off the flow of oxygen into a building. That idea sounded a bit too complex for one of her classmates to carry it out; so she quickly dismissed it.

Maki came up with many more speculations after this. Some of them were plausible; others were just plain ludicrous. In the end, she did not fully accept any of them as the true reason. However, she was certain about one thing: whatever produced that smoke, it must have brought about some form of anguish or destruction.

Maki was convinced that someone must have inflicted some pain onto another person very recently. Whoever the guilty party was, he or she must have used enough force to start a fire. Obviously, that person was serious about playing the game.

Most people would be horrified after reaching such a conclusion. But not Maki; when she came to this realization… she smiled. She smiled wickedly as she watched the smoke rise in the distance.

"Things are getting serious now," she uttered softly.

While she was far from the most anti-social person in Class 3-A, Maki was considered to be one of the more mysterious members of the class. Even her friends did not know very much about her personal interests or hobbies. She never talked about those sorts of things.

Maki actually had a very good reason for keeping quiet about her interests and hobbies. If her friends knew of them, if she expounded her innermost feelings and desires, if anyone even had a **hint** of what brought her pleasure, they would have avoided her like the plague.

Maki's main fascination was not in keeping up with fashion trends, collecting dolls, reading manga, watching anime, or anything similar. Her principal pastime could not be considered "girly" in the slightest. Because her main pleasure… was pain.

In public, Maki did not behave much differently from any other girl in her class. But in private, it was a different story. Strictly speaking, she was a sadist. She relished in other people's sufferings.

Maki's fascination with pain was not a simple one, like one out of curiosity. It had been deeply enrooted in her mind. Any time she witnessed someone get injured, sick, or emotionally hurt, she would often pretend to be concerned. But secretly, she enjoyed seeing them hurt. Sometimes she would watch the news if ever they aired a report of a person who had just been through a great personal loss. To her, a stranger's suffering was just as good – if not better – than the suffering of someone she already knew.

One would wonder why Maki took such delight in pain. Some people are actually born sadistic, but Maki was not one of these people. She actually developed this interest over a short period of time. But before she acquired it, she had been a much different person.

Back in elementary school, Maki had been a docile and somewhat submissive person. She had been a constant victim of bullying. Some of the more cruel members of the class frequently tormented Maki routinely for their own pleasure. She had her books damaged, her locker vandalized, her pocket money stolen, and several verbal insults thrown her way.

Maki just barely managed to put up with it all. To her, life back then was like a living hell.

When she entered junior-high school, she was so confident that her troubles would be over. However, her hopes faded when she discovered some of the students who tormented her would also attend Keio Shonan-Fujisawa Junior High.

However, Maki was not going to put up with another round of humiliation and emotional agony. She wanted to do something to improve her morale; she wanted to become more assertive.

She thought of beginning this goal by joining the school's crossbowman club. She was not certain how she got that idea at first; archery just always seemed interesting to her. It seemed like a sport that only firm, tough, self-respecting people would take up.

She entered into the club shortly after she received her acceptance letter into Keio Shonan-Fujisawa. Her application was approved and Maki signed up for the summer session.

She was a little uncertain at first, but as the weeks went by, Maki really got comfortable in the class. Contrary to the club's name, they did not just use crossbows. They started out with customary archery sets and then went on to the crossbows. The instructor explained to them "If you can handle a real bow, you can definitely handle a crossbow."

Maki saw the logic in what their instructor meant. She had heard that a crossbow was much easier to use than a typical bow. It would make sense to test their ability with the more difficult contraption before practicing the less difficult one. That way, one could determine at once if he or she had the ability to use both weapons properly.

The crossbowman club had a large inventory. All the members in the club were allowed to pick their own choice of weapon from it. They were even allowed to take their choice home, as long as they swore to take full responsibility of them. Maki found that she preferred using a longbow with wooden arrows. This combination suited her fairly well.

The class went very well for her. In fact, it did not take long for her to rise through the ranks. She discovered one thing about herself: she had very keen eyes, and excellent coordination. The class instructor began to praise her abilities with an archery set, telling Maki that she was "the stuff **real **hunters are made of."

The crossbowman club helped improve Maki's self-esteem and self-respect. She had not felt this good about herself in years. By the time she made the number one spot on the list of the school's top archers, Maki was a changed person. She was a little more like Tomoe Yamakawa now; she was very bright and optimistic. She was ready to face her rivals again when the school year started up. This time, she had no plans to be a pushover like before. She would handle herself in a polite yet dignified manner.

At least, that is how it would have happened. But less than a week before the school year began, something happened to Maki. Something that changed her even more.

Maki had been walking home late one night from her club's meeting. She was walking alone, twirling her longbow in her hands and whistling a song. A few months earlier, she would not have dared walking home on her own, especially when it was dark outside. Now, she was much braver and bolder. She felt like she could go hiking in the mountains by herself at night.

At one point, she approached a dark alleyway. Right before she passed it, she thought she heard a groan. She paused at the entrance of the alley and looked inside. She called out "Hello? Is anyone there?"

"Help… me…" a voice weakly responded.

Maki hesitated for a moment, but her conscious encouraged her to investigate. She turned into the alley and stepped in. About halfway in, she found a man slumped up against the wall. He was clutching his stomach as if he was bleeding.

Concerned, Maki leaned down to his level and asked him "Are you alright?"

"I… I don't know," he replied, struggling to catch his breath, "I was mugged just a few minutes ago. I think I've been stabbed."

"Here, let me see," Maki urged him, placing her hand on his.

"I don't think you'd want to see it," he told her, "It's not a pretty sight."

"Sir, you could be dying," Maki pointed out, "Let me see."

"Very well," he agreed. He pulled his hand away from his stomach and showed Maki his stomach. To her surprise, the man actually had no visible injury. He was not bleeding at all as far as she could tell.

She raised an eyebrow and commented "Are you certain you were stabbed?"

The man did not respond. Maki looked up at him and saw that he was now smiling. He jumped to his feet and grabbed Maki by her arms. He pushed her back against the opposite wall and gazed down at her lecherously.

Maki tried to scream, but the man clamped one of his hands over her mouth. He smirked evilly down at her and said "'Cry wolf and the sheep will come.' Works every time."

Maki was shocked. She realized right then that she had fallen victim to a rapist. This was the worst kind; one that preyed on pre-teen and teenage girls.

She could not speak through the man's hand, but she pleaded through her eyes for him not to do what he had in mind. The man just scoffed and stated "I can't turn back now, my dear. I'm not about to let go of my catch once I've reeled it in. But don't worry; I'll try to make it enjoyable for you, too. Trust me, I've done this before."

Several weeks earlier, if this happened to her, she would have simply tried begging for the man to leave her alone. She would have gotten onto her knees and pleaded with him. She probably would never have even **thought **of fighting back.

However, at that moment, Maki thought about everything she had accomplished in the past few weeks. She had gone from cowering in corners and subjecting herself to oppression to becoming an assertive, strong-willed, archer. She had come so far; she was not going to let all her efforts go to waste without a fight.

She knew what she had to do to get out of this.

At first, Maki whimpered and looked away from her attacker. He smiled and commented "That's a good girl. Just stay still right now. This won't take too long."

He began kissing Maki on her neck and shoulders. He continued using his left arm to hold her against the wall. He removed his right hand from her mouth and reached down to unbutton her jacket. Maki went on whimpering as he did so. Unbeknownst to the man, she was only pretending to be afraid. Once the man had all his attention focused on Maki's neck and jacket, she made her move.

She started by kneeing him in the groin. She did not use much force, but it was enough to get the man to back off. Once he was off of her, Maki raised her longbow into the air and struck him on the head with it. The man dropped to the ground, gripping his head.

Maki did not stop there. She struck the man over and over again with her longbow. She hit him on the face, the chest, the arms, and anywhere else she could reach. The longbow was sturdy; it did not so much as bend when she hit the man with it.

She ended up beating the man to the brink of death before she relented. He was a bloody mess on the ground by the time Maki was done with him.

Maki looked down at him and smiled in satisfaction. Then she remarked cheekily "You don't look too good. You might need to go to the hospital. I'll make sure the police stop by to pick you up later on; they'd be happy to 'escort' you."

The man did not respond; he barely even had the strength to talk now.

Maki placed her longbow against her shoulder and said "Have a lovely evening. I'm certainly having one.

Then she sauntered out of the alley without looking back. When she left the alley, she had heard a man groaning, just as she did when she first entered the alley. Only this time, the groans were real.

As Maki walked down the street, she stated "He was right about one thing; that **was **enjoyable."

Truth be told, she found that beating that man senseless had strangely brought her a great deal of pleasure. To have total domination over another person like that… it was bliss. Pure, heavenly bliss. She loved that sensation. She decided to explore it by observing more people's sufferings. Overtime, she became more and more fixated on the misery of others.

From that day forward, no one ever associated Maki with her old self. To call her docile or submissive would be entirely erroneous. She was a much more assertive, pitiless, and downright sadistic person than the person she had been before.

Even the school year started up, Maki did encounter some of her old rivals from elementary school. Some of them tried pestering her for fun again. But this time, Maki retaliated… in very brutal, unpleasant ways. After one of her rivals ended up in the hospital, no one dared to bother Maki ever again. Everyone who used to torment her feared her now.

Maki had become more and more interested in pain ever since the start of the seventh grade. While this interest had not greatly impacted her social life, it had seriously affected her mental well-being. One would almost be inclined to label her homicidal, even though she had not killed anyone… yet.

On the subject of killing, Maki had decided right from the moment Furutani had explained the rules that she would participate in the game. She was the only member of her class that was actually happy to be in the Program. With all the agony and anguish that would ensue from it, it was like Maki had found her ultimate calling.

She was totally confident that she could win the Program. She felt as though fate was smiling on her, especially when she discovered what she had received as a weapon. It was a standard archery set composed of a longbow strung with thick wire and a quiver of notched wooden arrows with sharpened points. Maki could not have asked for a finer weapon. It was almost as if she was **meant **to win.

The feel of the longbow she had been given was a little different from the one she had used back at school. She decided to get in some practice before she started playing the game for real.

The building she was on top of happened to be the city's recycling center. Maki had taken a crate of empty plastic water bottles up to the roof and stacked them together so that they formed a human-like target. It took a while, but she managed to pile them without them tumbling all over the place.

After she built this target on one side of the roof, she moved to the opposite side and began practice. In the time since she had come up to the roof, she had managed to hit every single water bottle three times or more. After several hours of practice, she knew she was ready to enter the game.

She still had yet to use her weapon against a classmate, as she had not encountered anyone yet. However, as she stood on the roof of the building in H-8 watching the smoke in the distance, something caught Maki's eye. Less than a mile away, she saw something moving down in the streets. She looked a little more closely, and she saw one of her classmates was on the move. The person was walking at a rather slow pace, almost as if he or she had a limp.

Seeing this made Maki grin widely; she grinned even more widely than she did when she saw the smoke from the fire. She gripped her longbow in her left hand and stated "A wounded target can often be more dangerous than a totally healthy one. Look like I'll have me a little challenge."

Maki officially entered the game at this point. She kept a close eye on the limping figure as it moved. Before it vanished from sight, Maki fastened her longbow to her quiver of arrows, walked over to one edge of the roof, and climbed down the ladder on that side of the building. Once she was on the ground, he began her pursuit.

…

Some people would argue that every problem has a solution. Take the Program, for example. The main problem surrounding it is how one would get out of the game. This problem has several solutions. The quickest one is also the most straightforward one: dying. However, only suicidal people would willingly choose this option. Yet in a successful Program, all but one of the participants ends up taking this option.

The preferred solution is also the one the government intends for the students to take: playing to win. While several students in the Program can be "persuaded" to kill their classmates, most of these people still end up in a body bag. Only the person who wanted to win the most would successfully leave the arena on their feet.

The Japanese government designed the Program so that these two options would be the only ones the contestants could take.

However, this did not stop some of the bolder participants from pursing a solution through a third option. Only the most daring and confident students selected this option: escaping.

In order to escape the Program, one would need a plan. This type of plan would require five main aspects: meticulous detail, focused thought, vast amounts of resources, careful execution, and – above all – a brilliant mind to put it all together. Escaping the Program was not impossible, regardless of the claims made by the instructors. But escape was only possible if everything was carried out flawlessly.

There is no such thing as a foolproof plan. It is always easier for something to go wrong than for it to go right. Even the best of plans have weak points.

This bids the question; how much time does it take for a good plan to fail? The answer, of course, depends. Usually something involving the five main aspects of the plan is responsible for any failure. Certain critical details might end up being foolishly overlooked, or the plan may be hastily put together without enough thought being put into it. It is equally possible that adequate materials might not be found, or errors might be made when the plan is carried out.

But what if something was to happen to the person who came up with the plan in the first place? The brilliant mind is by far the most valuable aspect in a plan; it is also the only aspect that can never be replaced.

A little before five o'clock, Teru Machida was almost finished rewriting the data for his disruption code. All he needed to do was run a program to test it, and then his plan would be ready for implementation.

However, before he tested his code, Teru remembered about something that had crossed his mind earlier on. He knew there was a good chance that no one might arrive in D-5 before the school's backup generators came online. If that happened, he needed an alternative which did not rely on his classmates' assistance.

When he finished rewriting his disruption code, Teru chose to go ahead and get everything he would need for his alternative option. He decided to swing by the gas station, fill up a few cans, and get them back to D-5 as soon as possible.

Before he left the police station, he saved all his progress on the data file, removed his flash drive from the computer, and put it in his pocket. Normally, Teru always made a copy of all his files on a secondary source. However, the only copy he had of his disruption code was the original one, which was on his flash drive. He made certain to be extra careful with the code and to keep it with him at all times. It held the key to all his problems, so he had to protect it with his life.

After that, he gathered up anything he deemed necessary for his run to the gas station. The only things he brought along were his supply pack and his harpoon rifle. Everything else, he left on the roof. Once he was all suited up, he left the police station.

Once he was out on the streets, he took out his map and used it to make certain the gas station was in F-4. Sure enough, it was located exactly where he thought it was. He put away his map and began making his way through the streets.

As he walked, he thought about the circumstances. When he first woke up in that classroom this morning, he first thought he would never live to see the next day. But after the initial shock set in, he had almost immediately began thinking of a way out of the Program. He was now glad he had chosen to resist the rules of the Program and to consider the possibility of escape.

The class in a Program was always told escape was impossible. Teru had a feeling that he was about to prove otherwise. After all, he had taken the time to come up with a plan that actually had a hope of succeeding. It had all five of the main aspects: meticulous detail, focused thought, vast amounts of resources, careful execution, and a brilliant mind. He smiled as he walked, as he felt proud of himself. He was quite certain that his plan would work; everything was going smoothly for him.

However, he was not in the clear yet.

Shortly after he entered F-4, Teru's nose twitched. It picked up a strange odor. The scent was sharp and bitter, like it was from a burning object. As Teru walked further south, he noticed that the aroma got stronger.

Even though the odor made him feel a little suspicious, he decided to ignore it and walked on.

Before long, he noticed something else. The air around him seemed to be getting warmer. At first he assumed it was just humidity, but he remembered it was December. In Japan, it only got humid during the spring. Teru became a little more suspicious by this abnormality.

However, he was not going to turn back simply because he felt a little hot. He just unbuttoned his jacket and pressed onward. He kept his harpoon rifle at the ready, just in case anyone was hiding around corners.

After walking a little further, Teru got his map back out and checked his position. He looked at his surroundings and compared them with his map. He quickly discovered that he was a block east of the gas station. In order to get there, he had to cut through an alley.

By then, the scent was stronger than ever and the air was warmer than ever. It was starting to become a little unpleasant to him. Like any cautious person, Teru hesitated before he went on. He ultimately concluded that he had nothing to worry about. He wrinkled his nose, wiped the sweat from his brow, and approached the nearest alley.

It took him less than two minutes to march through it. As soon as he stepped out of the alley, he arrived at the gas station. When he got there, he saw something that made him halt in his tracks.

A Toyota Highlander was parked next to one of the terminals of the gas station. The vehicle was immersed in huge flames. It had been on fire for over an hour, but the flames suggested it had burning even longer. Across the street, Teru could see a telephone booth and a dumpster in an alley that were blackened by ash, as if they had been set on fire as well. However, the most disturbing thing of all was out in the street.

There were two bodies lying on the ground on opposite sides of the road. The one further away was particularly large. It was wearing a uniform suit and a large metal backpack connected to a type of gun. The closer one was in a sailor suit. It was just as black as the phone booth and the dumpster, as if it had been burned as well.

Teru was horrified. He knew that people were playing the game, but he had no idea that anyone could descend **this **low. Burning to death? That was no way for a person to die. What kind of sadistic monster would let someone go down that way? It was beyond Teru's comprehension.

For the first time since the start of the game, Teru felt afraid. He slowly walked backwards away from the scene. He backed straight into a streetlight. He just stood there and gazed around the vicinity. From what he could tell, no one was there.

Teru was so focused on what was in front of him that he did not think of turning around and seeing what was behind him. Had he done this, he would have seen someone slowly approaching him.

A moment later, a rope-like object was slipped around Teru's neck. It was thin, black, and very rough. Before Teru even realized what was going on, the object was looped around the streetlight and firmly tightened. It was then that Teru reacted.

He dropped his harpoon rifle and his hands went straight to his neck. He struggled desperately to free himself from the rope-like object, but it was too thick to split or slide through. He tried pulling himself away, but he could barely even budge himself forward. The person holding him in place had to have been very strong.

For a moment, Teru refocused his attention from trying to get free to finding out who was attacking him. He tried turning around, but the rope-like object had restricted his movements. The best he could do was turning his head slightly to look over his shoulder.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a figure in a sweatshirt. The hood was drawn over the head; Teru could not make out the assailant's face at all. However, he could tell that the attacker was using both hands to hold the rope-like object in place. After looking a little more closely, Teru managed to deduce that he was actually being restrained by a whip.

Teru could tell that his attacker was not simply being cautious; he was definitely playing the game. But he was holding out some hope that his attacker was not deaf to reasoning. For what it was worth, he figured talking might work a miracle or two.

"Whoever you are…" he struggled to speak clearly, "Listen to me. We don't have to do this…"

The hooded figure did not respond. He just maintained his grip on the whip and pulled it a little tighter. He was trying to suffocate Teru. However, this did not stop Teru from making another attempt to change his mind.

"I don't know how you're feeling or why you're playing, but I can understand if you're afraid," he stated, "That's what Furutani and the others want to happen. They **want **us afraid. They want us to kill each other just so they can prove some bullshit point about how the government has absolute authority."

The figure seemed to ease down a little, but continued holding the whip in place. Then he remarked "That's quite a peculiar way of putting it, Teru."

Teru could recognize this voice anywhere. It was the voice of the person who always gave an introductory speech every time Keio Shonan-Fujisawa Junior High put on a play. It was the voice of the Class President.

"Genji, what the fuck are you doing?" Teru shouted heatedly.

"Unless I'm mistaken, I believe I am in the midst of choking you to death, Teru," Genji Nishihara (Boy #14) sarcastically responded, "If you would just hold still, I can get it done a little faster. It would save me some time, and you'd feel much less pain."

"You honestly think I'd just give up like that?" Teru muttered angrily. Fortunately for him, his arms were still free. He tried waving them at Genji, but he could only bend them so far backwards. No matter how hard he tried, he could not strike Genji's body. He was pinned down.

"It would be better for you if you do," Genji pointed out, "If I was a sadist like Maki, I would keep you alive longer just so you could be in greater, more extreme pain. But I'm not a sadist. I'm offering you a quicker way out, Teru. I'd suggest you take it."

"What about them?" Teru sharply retorted, gesturing towards the two bodies in the street, particularly the burnt one, "Did you show **them **the same mercy?"

"Their deaths weren't my doing," Genji enlightened his classmate, "About an hour ago, I was a mile east of here when I heard an explosion. I came here to investigate. They were already dead by the time I got here. That was fifteen minutes ago."

"Then **how **did they die?" Teru demanded, "In fact, who the hell are they?"

"The large one is Kazumitsu," Genji calmly explained, "He was shot in the temple. He only had one bullet in his forehead, but I collected a total of five casings. The other one – the burnt one – is Kaminari. I'm guessing she was sitting a little too close to the car when it went up in flames. I'd hate to have been in her shoes when that happened."

"So you didn't kill them," Teru thought aloud, "Yet you're willing to kill me?"

"You wouldn't be my first," Genji informed him, "I've already killed three people."

"Was Tsukasa one of them?" Teru enquired ruggedly. This possibility had just crossed his mind.

"No, I wouldn't waste my time hunting for a douchebag like him," Genji flatly answered.

"Don't you insult my friend like that!" Teru yelled furiously, trying again to strike Genji. His efforts were in vain; he could not even reach his opponent from his position. He was neck was clasped tightly to the streetlight.

When Teru finally relented, Genji stated "If you must know, I've killed Misaki, Chieko, and Hitoshi. In that order, as well. I also tried to kill Shuuichi and Kenzou about an hour ago, but they managed to get away."

"You killed your greatest admirer and your best friend?" Teru breathed in shock.

"Yup, and I feel no regrets," Genji replied, "The two of them went down without a struggle. Hitoshi was the first person I've encountered who actually put up a fight. In fact, this whip was his originally. Take a look at what he did to me with it."

Genji used one of his hands to hold the whip in place. He took his other hand and brought it up to his hood. He slid it off his head and moved a little around the streetlight to give Teru a better view of him. Teru was stunned by what he saw. Everyone in Class 3-A – even the straightest of the boys – thought Genji had a particularly handsome face. Now, his handsome face was riddled with over a dozen scars.

"You think that's bad?" remarked Genji, "I've got even worse than that down lower. My uniform was so torn up that I actually had to change into my spare one."

"If this is your true self, I'd say your appearance matches your personality," Teru audaciously remarked.

Genji scoffed a bit at this to humor Teru. Then he moved back to his original position, held the whip with both hands again, and tensed his grip a little more. Then he said "We're wasting time here. Let's get this over with."

"Genji… why are you doing this?" Teru demanded angrily.

"Because I have no choice," was the Class President's emotionless response as he tightened the whip even more, "Have you forgotten that it's 'kill or be killed' in here?"

"No… it isn't," Teru replied, struggling to speak clearly, "I… I'm close to… finding a way out!"

At this, Genji paused. Teru had succeeded in getting his attention. He wanted to dig a little deeper before going on. "Define 'way out.'"

Teru hesitated for a moment. He had no way of covering up the microphone in his necklace, as the whip was directly along the opening between his neck and the necklace. But if he wanted to survive this, he would have to tell Genji everything. He would have to risk exposing his plan to Furutani and the soldiers. However, at that moment, his desire to live outweighed everything else. So he came forward with everything.

"You… you remember that… disruption code… from computer class?" Teru began.

"Yes, I do," was Genji's answer.

"I… kept a copy… of mine," Teru elucidated, "I've got it… on a flash drive… in my pocket. I've been… working on it… in the time… since the final exam. Right now… it's strong enough to… wipe out a whole… building's electricity grid. I'm… going to try… using it on… the school."

"Impressive," commented Genji, "But what good would that do?"

"Do I really… have to… **spell** it out… for you?" Teru shouted irately, "If we… take out the school… then it's… game over! We can… escape the Program!"

At that, Genji's interest seemed to die down considerably. He drily stated "Oh, so **that's **your big plan. A half-assed sabotage method to wipe out the people in control?"

"It's not… half-assed!" Teru responded crossly, "I've been… working on this thing… all damn day! I just finished… rewriting the code. I just need… to test it first… then it can… be implemented! I swear to you… it works!"

Genji lightly shook his head and commented "I don't **care **whether or not it works. If it involves escaping, all I can say for certain is that it is not an option."

Teru could not believe what he was hearing. He had just offered Genji a way out of the Program, but he had just dismissed his proposal like it meant nothing to him.

"Are you for fuckin' real?" he uttered quietly, "Do you have any idea what most victims of the Program would give for a chance such as the one I'm offering you?"

"They would probably be willing to give up quite a lot," Genji answered, "But most of them probably would not have very much to give in the first place. The ones that really have something to live for would be willing to play the game."

"Genji, what the hell are you saying?" Teru remarked, "You aren't making an inkling of sense!"

"In that case, Teru, let's hypothesize for a moment," stated Genji, loosening his grip a little on the whip, "Suppose your little 'saboteur' tactic actually works out, and you manage to disable the school. What would happen then?"

"Well, I'd try to gather everyone else together and seize control of the school," Teru explicated, "If that didn't work, I'd resort to burning the school down on my own. That's why I was here; I was getting gasoline for my backup strategy."

"So far, this sounds like a pretty decent plan," Genji honestly stated, "But tell me, what would happen after you eliminated Furutani and his men? Even if you offed the lot of them, the soldiers and the electric fencing along the city's borders would still be there."

"I figured we'd be able to find some way out of the city," Teru continued, "Then we'd work together to survive outside the city."

"Now **there's **where your plan becomes detrimental," Genji claimed, "What would happen to us them? Would we all just stay together until further notice?"

"Well, I… I assume so," Teru answered, "I hadn't really thought that far in advance."

"In that case, allow me to point out the biggest flaws in your plan," Genji offered, keeping a stable grip on the whip, "After we escaped, we would be renegades from the government. They'd have 'wanted' posters of us everywhere in the country. The government would portray us on the same level as political insurgents and mass murderers. As soon as they apprehended us, we'd be executed."

"I can live with that," Teru retorted angrily, "I'd want nothing to do with this government after we got out of this."

"Teru, at the moment, there are thirty of us left," Genji continued, "That's thirty maximum. We might have a **chance** –and I mean a very **slim **chance – of surviving if we work together. But some of the people playing this game are already too far gone. Take the person who killed Kazumitsu and Kaminari; I don't see myself having a reasonable discussion with that person. Aside from that, thirty junior high students don't just disappear overnight."

"Well, we'll just have to slip away in the quiet of the night," Teru countered, still struggling to get free.

"I missed the part where this plan of yours said anything about going into hiding or fleeing the country," Genji pointed out, "Those would be our only options if we escaped this thing. How do you propose to live the life of a fugitive or a runaway? I have no intention of living that way."

"If that's the case, why don't you just stay behind?" Teru snapped back, "You can remain in the city while I get everyone else out."

"You think the government would let me go free?" stated Genji, lightly rolling his eyes, "Well, they wouldn't. They would just throw me in prison on a multitude of charges. Granted, most of these charges would be falsified, but they'd easily be able to prove me guilty of conspiracy alone just from listening to you."

Teru had to admit he was stunned by what Genji was telling him; the Class President had a much firmer grasp on the realities of the Program than the drama and computer expert did.

"Above all, have you asked yourself how escaping would affect those close to us?" queried Genji.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Teru.

"Teru, most of the people in the class have both parents alive," Genji stated, "Several also have siblings. I only have my father. If all of us were to escape the Program, do you **know **what would become of our families? The government would arrest them and hold them in jail until we gave ourselves up. That goes for all of us."

"How can you be so sure of that?" Teru demanded.

"Because it's happened before," Genji answered, "While we might get off free, our families would pay the price. My father is a very powerful and influential man. If I was to leave the Program and disappear without a trace, he would be stripped off all that. I cannot allow that to happen. My father is a very good man. He's made huge sacrifices for me, and he's got my future all set up. He's made me into the person I am today."

"You mean the person everyone at school knew you by, or your true self?" Teru remarked irritably

"The latter," Genji answered calmly, "I was like you once, all optimistic and hopeful for the bright side of life to stay on my side. Then something happened to me that changed my life. I thought it would be the end of me. But my father told me how the world really was, and he told me how life is full of tragedies. He helped me cope with my despair. The least I can do to repay him is to win this thing. As long as I am in it, I won't escape. And neither shall you."

Teru was beyond shaken at this point. He gazed back at Genji and told him "You're a madman. You have to be insane."

"I may just be that," Genji admitted shamelessly, "But some of the most ambitious men of all-time were mad. Now, time to get this done."

At that, Genji pulled on the whip much harder than ever before. Teru had just begun to breathe in when that happened. This sudden tug on his neck gave him quite a shock. He began undergoing some violent spasms in an attempt to break free. Genji kept his grip steady and he did not relent. He pulled even harder on the whip. He pulled so hard that Teru could feel the thick material dig into the skin on his neck. Contrary to what Genji told him, it was excruciatingly painful.

Over a minute later, Teru stopped struggling. He froze in his stance and his head slumped forward. Genji did not undo his grip just yet. He kept pulling on the whip for about twenty seconds. Then he gradually loosened his grip. As soon as he did, Teru collapsed. He landed right on his butt, sitting up straight against the streetlight.

Genji walked around him and squatted to his level. He took a close look at Teru's eyes. They were wide-open and bloodshot. When Genji placed his hand on Teru's neck, he could feel no pulse. Genji smiled to himself and commented "That makes four now."

Remembering what Teru said earlier, he reached into his classmate's pockets and found a flash drive. This must have contained the data to the disruption code. Genji smiled and said "I'll just hold onto this. Don't want anybody else getting the same bad idea."

Next he picked up Teru's harpoon rifle and looked it over closely. It was not a firearm, but it did appear to be a rather efficient gadget.

"Nice weapon you got here," he commented derisively as he slid it over his shoulder, "I'll take it."

Next, he searched through Teru's supply pack. He did not find anything particularly useful other than another harpoon. He already had plenty of rations and water from his previous kills, so he decided to leave those behind.

He also left the whip behind, next to Teru's body. While it was an effective weapon, Genji felt it wasn't efficient enough.

Having gathered all he wanted, Genji entered the nearest alley and pulled his submachine gun, supply pack, and backpack out from a large cardboard box. After equipping himself with them, he departed from the area.

Teru's plan still had four of the five main aspects of a good plan. It had the meticulous detail, the focused thought, the vast amounts of resources, and the careful execution. But it had just lost the most important and only nonexpendable aspect. It had lost the brilliant mind.

Teru was out of the game, and any chance the rest of Class 3-A had of escaping went with him.

**Boy #19 Teru Machida – Dead**

**28 Students Remaining**


	24. When Things Get Serious

What do people leading job interviews and people participating in the Program have in common? The answer to this is simple: they both make decisions that affect not only themselves, but also the people around them. Some of the decisions these people face may seem easy at times, but they are never trivial or insignificant.

By the end of a conversation, an interviewer must decide what to tell the person he is speaking with. If he believes the clients could make great contributions to the company, they will likely get the job. However, only a few applicants even manage to capture the interviewer's attention; most of them are turned down in the first few minutes.

In a similar way, people in the Program are faced with critical decisions. However, interviewers make decisions that affect people's futures; the vast majority of the people participating in the Program do not even have a future to worry about. If they want that future to become reality, they have to decide whether or not they will play the Program to win.

An interviewer will either give the interviewee the job or dismiss him and never see him again. A Program player must decide if he or she will work with their friends, or if he or she will kill them. Both job interviewers and Program contestants are forced to make these decisions within minutes after being presented with them.

While an interviewer almost never changes his or her mind once a decision has been made, people in the Program may change their position on a decision overtime.

Eiko Hirakawa (Girl #17) was one such example. When she had first been told her class was in the Program, she had initially considered hiding out for as long as she could. She had no desire to play the Program at that time; she just wished she could somehow disappear and go somewhere danger could not follow.

Eiko had made this decision to hide right on the spot and she was certain this decision would stand. But when she saw Furutani shoot Ms. Kawano in the head without any display of emotion, she realized immediately that hiding from danger would not be as easy as she thought. As Furutani carried out the explanation for the rules in the Program, Eiko ultimately came to the conclusion that hiding from danger in the Program would practically be like trying to hide from death forever.

What really unsettled her was when Kazuki Chikuda tried to attack Blaine Rhodes without provocation. That was what really gave Eiko a shock. At that point, she had been certain that hiding throughout the entire game would be impossible. But that did not mean she would stop from trying.

Before she even left the school, Eiko had revised her strategy. She would still try hiding, but she would fight back if need be. When she discovered she had been given a Colt Peacemaker as a weapon, she felt a little bit reassured. She felt that a firearm would be key to her survival.

Eiko did not plan to hide by herself; she wanted to meet up with Ichiko Murakami first. She had arranged this in her mind from the very beginning. She was certain Ichiko was the one person she could whole-heartedly trust in the Program; the two of them had been best friends for the longest time. She thought about waiting outside the school for Ichiko, as there were only five people between the two of them. However, Eiko knew full well that the person who would leave immediately after her was Akiyo Furukawa (Boy #18). Everyone in the class knew that Akiyo was a pervert in more ways than one. In the heat of the moment, Eiko contemplated what would happen if Akiyo decided to spend the Program chasing skirt. She was certain that he would go after a target once he had his eyes set on it, and if she happened to be that target, he would have the strength and the will to capture her by force.

When these thoughts entered Eiko's mind, she panicked. She had no desire to be mistreated in that way. So she quickly made her way to the west end of the block. Once she was there, she sprinted in the direction of the south as fast as she could. She must have run for miles before she paused to catch her breath.

She stopped for less than ten minutes total. While she caught her breath, she decided to go ahead and load her revolver. While it was an old weapon, it appeared to be in pristine condition. With a bit of difficulty, she managed to load six bullets into the chamber of her gun. She knew she had a manual which she could consult for proper instructions on how to load the weapon, but she was in a bit of a hurry to move on. Plus, she was not entirely certain she could bring herself to use it.

Loading the revolver took a bit of time, but she managed to get the gun loaded. After this, she thought about finding a place to stay until the sun rose. That was when she made her way to the western apartment complex.

Once she made it there, she began browsing through the streets. All the buildings looked the same, but Eiko wanted to find one with a little more class. After all, she was the closest thing Class 3-A had to an aristocrat; she was used to a higher standard of living.

After a few hours of strolling through the neighborhood, she had her encounter with Kazuki Chikuda. During the brawl itself, Eiko thought she would be dead quite soon; yet she came out of it with only a shallow cut above her knee. Emerging victorious from that incident was what truly changed Eiko's perspective of the Program. She became convinced that she had a genuine chance of surviving.

She began to wonder if hiding actually was the most ideal course of action to take. It occurred to her that nowhere in the city could officially be deemed "safe" from either danger zones or other players.

It was here that she thought about taking on a more defensive approach. While hiding still sounded like a wise option, Eiko was certain she could bring herself to kill anyone in self-defense. After all, that was why she killed Kazuki. If she wanted to keep both herself and Ichiko alive, she knew she would have to kill again eventually.

After another hour or so of surveying the apartment complex, Eiko had stopped at a rather posh-looking lot near the western border of the city. She made the decision to stay there until the morning announcements. Then she would set out and search for Ichiko. Once they met up, they could work out a long-term survival plan together.

This was what Eiko had in mind until the morning announcements came. That was when she learned what had become of her best friend. The news of Ichiko's death had devastated her.

Eiko felt as if Ichiko's death was her fault. If only she had waited for her outside the school or started looking for her a bit sooner, the two of them could have met up and worked together. Then Ichiko would still be alive. Eiko was angry with herself for placing her own safety so highly over Ichiko's. It made her feel greatly responsible for her friend's death.

This guilt tore into Eiko so roughly that it made her feel sick. Something awoke inside of her; something terrible and murderous was compelling her to go out into the city. She swore that she would not let this crime go unpunished. She quickly became determined to avenge Ichiko's murder. Somehow, someway, she was going to make the killer suffer.

Eiko had spent most of that morning looking over the manual for her gun. She wanted to familiarize herself with her weapon as best she could before going back out into the city. She had already killed someone with it, but simply knowing how to fire it was not enough for her.

After a few hours of reading and rereading, Eiko began formulating a new strategy for how she would last in the Program. She knew it would not be an easy task to find Ichiko's killer. After all, the city covered a total of one hundred square miles; the entire class was spread out across this area. In addition to this, Eiko had no way of knowing who Ichiko's killer may have been. She was pretty certain that even if she successfully executed a confrontation, no one would openly admit to killing her best friend.

So Eiko came up with a simple but organized tactic for finding Ichiko's murderer. She decided that she would kill anyone who was playing the Program to win. She was confident that one of the players must have been the one who killed Ichiko. The only way to make certain of that was to eliminate anyone who posed a direct threat.

Eiko headed back out into the city in the afternoon. She was on the lookout for any potential threat. However, the streets seemed to be empty everywhere she went. At one point, Eiko commented humorously under her breath "Isn't this ironic. All this time, I've been thinking about hiding. Yet considering the circumstances, I seem to be the only person in the class that's out on the streets."

Truth be told, the city did seem to be deserted. The only person Eiko encountered was Tomoe Yamakawa. They had seen each other from a little over a hundred feet away. Tomoe slowly backed away in the opposite direction when she first saw Eiko. The rich girl decided not to pursue the track star for two good reasons. The first reason was that Tomoe did not strike Eiko as the type of person who would actually kill someone, even in the Program. She seemed much too cheery and optimistic to resort to such a thing. The other reason was that Eiko knew that if Tomoe took off running, it would be virtually impossible to catch up with her.

So Eiko ignored Tomoe and continued further into the city. Shortly after this, she saw a bright orange-yellow light in the distance. She was not certain why, but there was something about that light that drew her to it. It was as if someone was lighting a beacon or something similar.

When she was less than a thousand feet away, Eiko realized that the light was in fact from a fire. Someone had sent an object on the roof of a building ablaze. The flames were not very large, but it was taking a long time for them to go out.

Eiko decided to investigate. If one of her classmates had plans to commit arson, that would be reason enough for them to qualify as players.

Before long, the flames went out, but Eiko managed to determine their point of origin. It did not take her long to arrive there. That was when she encountered Kaminari and Kazumitsu outside the gas station in F-4. She stood idly by in the alleyway across the street and observed them from there unnoticed. She began to suspect that the two of them had plans to win the game.

A couple minutes later, her theory was confirmed when Kaminari asked Kazumitsu which one of them should kill Blaine if they stumbled across him. That was all the validation Eiko needed to know they were playing the game. So she moved in and attacked them.

The two of them proved to be quite a bit harder to put down than Kazuki, but they went down much more easily than Eiko thought they would. She was actually proud of how she handled herself. She also found that bringing her classmates down like that gave her a strange thrill. It brought her a feeling of accomplishment and superiority. Growing up, her parents told her that these were two things that they expected her to exhibit overtime. That was one ideal that she really took to heart.

Eiko had always been instructed how to live every single individual aspect of her life as she grew up. That was a side effect of growing up in a rich family; she had very limited freedoms. But here in the Program, she was answerable to no one. She could do anything she wanted to do and get away with it. She was going to take full advantage of this opportunity now that she knew she had it.

When the Program first began, Eiko had planned to just cower in a corner of some dark building until the game was over. Now she had a plan to roam the streets all day and kill everyone she came across. Whether or not they were playing the game made no difference to her. Taking this approach would be a surefire way to bring Ichiko's murderer to justice, as well.

…

Back in D-7, Toshirou Oosaki (Boy #5) and Gakuto Yamashita (Boy #21) were close to finishing up their chemistry experiment with the nitroglycerin. They had run into a few complications along the way, but everything was going well for them at this time.

A few hours earlier, shortly after Kazumitsu and Kaminari left the bar, the two of them got the solution of sulfuric acid and nitric acid to cool to below 30 degrees centigrade. This was the most ideal temperature for adding glycerin to the mixture.

They handled the incorporation of the glycerin with extreme care. While Toshirou held the mercury-operated thermometer over the beaker of the acid solution and monitored it for any change in temperature, Gakuto gradually added the glycerin to the solution in small amounts using a medicine dropper. He made certain to add the glycerin slowly and carefully until the entire surface of the acid was covered with it.

According to the instructions, this step in the nitroglycerin-brewing process was the single most important one. It was also a quite dangerous part, as the nitration would take place as soon as the glycerin was added to the acid solution. Gakuto knew that the nitration would produce heat, which was the last thing the mixture needed at this time. So every time after he added another drop of glycerin to the solution, he would look up at Toshirou and wait for a sign.

If Toshirou nodded his head, that would mean the temperature of the solution was still well below thirty degrees centigrade. In that case, Gakuto could add another drop of glycerin to the beaker. If Toshirou softly shook his head, that would mean the temperature was just shy of thirty degrees centigrade. In the event of this scenario, Gakuto waited a little while before adding another drop of glycerin. If Toshirou violently shook his head, that would mean that the temperature was on the verge of rising above thirty degrees centigrade.

The instructions for brewing nitroglycerin explicitly stated that if the solution was to rise above 30 degrees, it had to be immediately dumped into the ice bath. Otherwise, there was a huge chance that the mixture would go off in Gakuto's face.

Three times, the mixture had risen above thirty degrees. Each time, Gakuto had been forced to dump the solution into the ice bath. Subsequently, each time that happened, he and Toshirou had to start the acid phase of the experiment all over again.

Fortunately for them, the fourth time was the charm. Gakuto managed to cover the entire surface of the acid solution with glycerin without letting the temperature rise above thirty degrees. They finally had the nitration process going properly. After that, he and Toshirou had to let the solution steep.

For the first ten minutes of nitration, the mixture had to be gently stirred. Toshirou used a thin plastic mixing stick with a rubber head to carry out this task. While he stirred, Gakuto kept his eye on the solution. He explained to Toshirou that in a normal reaction, the nitroglycerin would form as a layer on top of the acid solution. At the same time, the sulfuric acid would absorb the excess water.

Shortly before the ten minutes passed, Gakuto got another beaker and filled it up with cold water. After the nitration had taken place, nitroglycerin had formed on the top of the solution. All the contents of the beaker of acid had to be transferred slowly and carefully to the beaker of water. The purpose of this was so that the nitroglycerin would settle at the bottom of the second beaker. The other acids would remain floating on the surface of the water and then they could be drained away.

Toshirou tilted the second beaker at a slight angle and carefully began pouring the acids out of it. After he removed as much acid as he possibly could without disturbing the nitroglycerin, he set the beaker back down on the table. Gakuto then took an eyedropper and used it to extract the nitroglycerin from the bottom of the beaker. Then he placed the nitroglycerin in a third beaker, which contained a bicarbonate of soda solution.

The current time was five-thirty in the afternoon, and this was as far as they had gotten. They did not have much more to do before the nitroglycerin would be ready for use.

Reika Fujihara (Girl #19) had been at the next table, watching her friends work. She was sitting backwards in a chair, resting her arms on the back support. While she had never been really partial to chemistry class, she still had a bit of a fascination for chemical experiments.

Up until here, she had mostly been watching on in silence. However, the experiment itself had aroused her curiosity quite a bit. She asked Gakuto "What are you doing now?"

"I'm transferring the nitroglycerin to a flask of sodium bicarbonate," he replied.

"Why bother?" she inquired, "If you already have the nitroglycerin, why would you need to do any more work?"

"Because the nitroglycerin has some impurities left from the acid solution," Gakuto elucidated, "You see, since the sodium is an alkali, it will neutralize most of the acid remaining. Any acid left over only makes the nitroglycerin more unstable than it already is. We need to remove the excess."

"How long will that take?" inquired Reika.

"Hard to say," Gakuto answered, "The instructions do not specify any actual amount of time. All it says is that the process should be repeated as much as necessary until there is no acid remaining."

"How will we know when all the acid has been removed?" asked Toshirou,

"We'll use litmus paper to check for the presence of acid," Gakuto enlightened him. He looked over at the adjacent table and remarked "Speaking of which, Reika, could you hand me that box on that table over there?"

"Sure," Reika agreed. She turned around, picked up a small orange box, turned back to Gakuto, and handed it to him. He ripped open the top of the box and pulled out a few slips of litmus paper. Then he announced to the others "We just have to dip the tip of this into the solution. When the litmus paper turns a dark blue, we'll know that there is no acid left in the nitroglycerin."

"What then?" asked Toshirou.

"Then we'll be ready to move on to the final step," Gakuto responded, "We'll extract the nitroglycerin from the sodium bicarbonate. After we test it, it should be ready for use."

"Excellent," commented Reika, "I look forward to seeing what homemade nitroglycerin can really do."

"So do I," Gakuto admitted eagerly.

Across the room, Osamu Sano (Boy #9) was pacing back and forth from one side of the room to the other. He had been pacing nonstop for over an hour. He had not spoken a word since he began.

Gakuto, Toshirou, and Reika were starting to become a little concerned for Osamu. He seemed to be quite distraught and nervous; these qualities were rather uncharacteristic of him.

"Are you alright, Osamu?" queried Toshirou.

"Oh, I'm fine, Toshirou," was the group leader's candid response, "But I'm beginning to wonder if I can say the same about Kaminari and Kazumitsu."

"Why's that?" Gakuto asked as he dipped a piece of litmus paper in the nitroglycerin solution. It turned a shade of dark red, meaning that there was still a significant amount of acid left behind. He and Toshirou had a little ways to go.

"They've been gone for hours," Osamu pointed out, "How long does it take one to get some gasoline?"

"Maybe they encountered a few… complications along the way," Reika hypothesized.

"Like a player?" Osamu assumed.

"While that's certainly a possibility, I'd prefer to consder an alternate theory," Reika stated.

"Well, if they didn't run into an ambitious classmate, what else could have delayed them?" Osamu enquired.

"From what I recall, the car was on the verge of running on fumes," Toshirou recounted, "It could be possible that the car ran out of gas before they made it to the gas station. If that was the case, they would have had to walk partway to the gas station to get some fuel."

"That, or they tried to push the car all the way to the gas station," Gakuto added in as he dipped a piece of litmus paper into the nitroglycerin solution. It turned a light purple, but not quite blue.

Toshirou scoffed and said "I suppose that could have been an option. Kazumitsu definitely has the strength to pull that off, after all."

"Joking aside, what else do you think may have happened?" queried Osamu.

"Maybe they stopped to check in on Teru," theorized Gakuto, "You know, to see how his efforts on the disruption code are progressing."

"While not very likely, that could be the reason," Toshirou concurred, "But I'm not certain we even told them where he is."

"Really?" said Gakuto, "I'm positive we did. At the very least, we mentioned that he told us he was conducting his operations along the northern border of D-5 and that he was on the roof of a tall building, most likely the police station."

"I actually do remember you saying that," Reika recollected.

"Didn't you say you saw Teru earlier this morning, Reika?" queried Osamu.

"Yes, I did," Reika confirmed, "As you know, he left the school right before I did. When I first exited the building, I believe I saw him near the police station."

"Well, for the moment, let's say they stopped to check up on Teru," suggested Toshirou, "After all, that would be the most hopeful and optimistic idea."

"I can dig that," Gakuto agreed. He took a third piece of litmus paper and dipped it in the nitroglycerin solution. When he removed the paper, it came out pure blue. That was the sign that the acid was all gone. When Gakuto saw this, he shook his fist in the air and shouted "Yes!"

Toshirou smiled when he saw the blue litmus paper. Then he remarked "So, are we moving on?"

"You know it," was Gakuto's answer. He picked up a clean eyedropper and used it to slowly and carefully extract a bit of nitroglycerin from the bicarbonate solution. He examined it closely while it was in the eyedropper. It appeared to be the right color and consistency of nitroglycerin. But he needed to test it first to make certain it actually was authentic nitroglycerin.

The usual test to check for successful nitration was a relatively simple one. Gakuto took a thin metal sheet and placed a single drop of nitroglycerin on the sheet. Then he walked over to the Bunsen burner on the counter and turned it back on. Once the flame was up, he carefully held the metal sheet up to it just enough for the flame to come in contact with the nitroglycerin. Once the drop was ignited, Gakuto stared intently at it. A moment later, he got his confirmation when he saw a clear blue flame rising from the top of the drop. That was the sign that the liquid was in fact true nitroglycerin.

Gakuto turned to his friends and announced triumphantly "We have success, my friends!"

Toshirou, Reika, and Osamu smiled and clapped for the class mastermind several times. Gakuto removed his goggles from his eyes and stated "Thank you, thank you. I could not have done it without you all."

Toshirou then removed his own eye goggles and remarked "Now that we know we have the real deal, we can check off this experiment and mark it as 'successful.'"

"Indeed we can," Gakuto agreed as he sat back down next to Toshirou, "But it's a bit early to celebrate. First let's get all the nitroglycerin separated from the sodium bicarbonate solution. Then we can take time to admire our work."

"Sounds like a reasonable arrangement to me," said Toshirou.

The two of them went back to work collecting the nitroglycerin from what was left of the solution in the third beaker. It was a long, intricate process, but they felt that every second of their time spent on the project was worth it.

Osamu sat down next to Reika and watched them as they worked. After a few minutes, he turned to her and asked her "Do you think they're alright?"

"You mean Kazumitsu and Kaminari?" she assumed.

"Yeah," he answered, "While I do hope that they're alright, I don't think I can bring myself to believe they are unless someone else believes it as well."

"I'll be honest with you, Osamu; I **want **to believe that nothing has happened to them," Reika confessed, "But it's foolish to believe something that cannot be proven without firm evidence. Of course, I haven't given up on them just yet. After all, remember that this is Kaminari and Kazumitsu we're dealing with. It's hard to break someone like them. All six of us are strong, but together we are stronger. I feel confident that all of us have a better chance of surviving if we at least work in pairs. With that in mind, Kaminari and Kazumitsu should be doing just fine on their own."

Osamu smiled and placed his hand on Reika's. She always spoke fine words of wisdom, especially whenever the group needed some guidance. That was one thing he particularly appreciated about her. In some ways, she was the philosopher of the group.

"What about Teru?" he queried, "How do you think he's doing, anyway?"

"I'm still not entirely certain what to make of this whole affair involving him," Reika admitted straightforwardly, "After all, neither you nor I were there when Toshirou and Gakuto encountered him. So we aren't as familiar with Teru's plan as they are. Even if he told the two of them everything about his plan and they told us everything in return, they would still have better assurance of it than we would."

"So, you have your doubts about the actual effectiveness of Teru's plan?" asked Osamu.

"While I know it's important to stay in good spirits, we shouldn't go around chasing what may turn out to be a false hope," Reika answered honestly, "Earlier on, Gakuto mentioned that even Teru himself is not certain that that plan of his will be successful. If Teru is unsure of his work, then we should not take it for granted either. However, I'm not saying we should write him off entirely. There is always a chance he'll pull through. I mean, in all the years we've known Teru, have you ever seen him royally screw up on anything?"

"Now that you mention it, I don't think I have," Osamu answered as he thought back to some of his experiences at school involving Teru, "He has a fine habit of finishing anything he starts, and he doesn't stop until he is certain he has done everything correctly."

"Exactly," said Reika, "For the present, let's just hope that Teru's plan is progressing well. After all, if Toshirou and Gakuto were able to successfully develop some nitroglycerin, it would be reasonable to assume that Teru is having some luck with his work as well."

"What about Kaminari and Kazumitsu?" inquired Osamu.

Reika merely shrugged and answered "Let's just wait until the evening announcement. If they're not on it, then they're probably just running late. I'm almost certain that that's why they're not back yet. If that does turn out to be the reason, we have nothing to worry about. After the evening announcement, we can decide what to do from there."

Osamu smiled and held Reika's hands in his. He told her "I like this plan."

She smiled back and looked him lovingly in the eye. The two of them had gotten closer in the past few hours than they had in all the time they had known each other before that day. In the Program, despair seemed prevalent everywhere. But Osamu and Reika had found faith and hope in each other's company.

Unbeknownst to them, their expectations concerning Kaminari, Kazumitsu, and Teru were very far off from the truth of what became of them.

…

In F-6, everybody at City Hall was focused on the tasks at hand. Kiyomi Takayama was in the mayor's office, keeping watch through the window. Tatsuo Inoue was in the lobby, standing guard near the front entrance. Blaine Rhodes and Yuuga Suzuki were down below in the bomb shelter.

Yuuga was in the midst of teaching Blaine his personal methods about mastering control over his emotions. He had already taught him three different approaches, and Blaine took down plenty of notes about them in his mind. Yuuga had expected that presenting all his teachings to Blaine would be a bit of a long process, but Blaine proved to be a quick learner. He was taking his friend very seriously; he was eager to learn.

"How you feeling?" Yuuga asked his friend.

"I can still detect my emotions," Blaine replied, "I mean, I know they're there and I know I'm experiencing them, but I feel as though I have a much better grasp over them. Does that make sense?"

"Yes, perfect sense," Yuuga remarked, smirking, "I know exactly what you're saying. I've felt the same way about my emotions ever since I started practicing these exercises. I've discovered that while you can overcome and manipulate your emotions, you can never ignore them or lose them entirely."

"Good, that's not what I was hoping for," Blaine commented, "I'd hate to put away my emotions completely. After all, they are one of the things that separate humans from animals."

"That's a clever way of putting it," Yuuga agreed, "Shall we move on?"

"Certainly," said Blaine.

So far, Yuuga had taught Blaine his own patented techniques of meditation, relaxation, and stoicism. Now he wanted to teach him a fourth method. This one was focused around the concept of extreme focus and concentration.

"I consider this one to be the most beneficial of all my methods," Yuuga told Blaine, "Not only does it help me keep my emotions in line, but it also allows me to develop a much stronger perception of my surroundings."

"That certainly does sound like an advantage," Blaine concurred, "What do I have to do for this?"

"You start off the same way as the previous exercises," Yuuga instructed him, "By that, you need to close your eyes and take some deep but steady breaths."

Blaine nodded and closed his eyes. He began inhaling deeply through his mouth and nose. He let his lungs fill with air several times, and each time afterward, he exhaled the carbon dioxide.

"Now, you have to set your mind at ease," Yuuga continued, "Take all the tension you're under and let it sink to the back of your mind. You need to soothe yourself."

Blaine did as he was told. The previous exercises helped him manage this part. He put all his guilt, all his anger, and all his anxiety together and pushed them back. He did not expel them entirely, as Yuuga had already taught him a few ways he could use his negative feelings to his advantage. For the present, he just needed to set them aside. Once he felt calm and tranquil, he told Yuuga "Okay, I'm ready."

"Now comes the difficult part," stated Yuuga, "You have to try to think of all your biggest and most immediate problems at the same time. And I mean **all **of them. The Program, our late classmates, the well-being of the ones who are still alive, what the future may hold for us; let the concern you have over all of them flow through your brain simultaneously."

Blaine was confused by this statement. Without opening his eyes, he thought aloud "Why would I need to do that? Up until this point, you've instructed me to clear my mind of all those things."

"There's a good reason for that," Yuuga enlightened him, "The other methods I taught you are meant to do away with one's problems. Meditation involves pacifying them, relaxation involves dismissing them, and stoicism involves ignoring them. You see, in these exercises, thinking of your problems would only hinder your efforts to have a hold over your emotions. But the method of concentration requires facing your problems directly. After all, how can you focus on something if you don't even know what it is you're supposed to be focusing on?"

"That is a fine point," Blaine agreed, "I'll let you know when I think I'm there."

"Take your time," Yuuga advised him, "This method was the most difficult for me to master. It took me weeks to come up with it, and weeks more to perfect it. I can practically **guarantee **you that this is one exercise that you will not find in any book or video. It's the only one I completely developed all by myself."

Blaine nodded his head and began thinking of every dilemma that had been plaguing his mind for the past eighteen hours. He thought about when he was first told about the Program and the catastrophic consequences it had on the people selected for it. He thought about when Furutani shot and killed Ms. Kawano earlier than morning. Most of all, he thought about the "new rule" Furutani has presented the rest of the class with; it was a rule which could be a benefit for the rest of the class, but it singled him out as the most unlucky member in the class.

He thought about the fact that his girlfriend had been forced to kill someone. He thought about how she and his best friend were risking their lives to protect him from the rest of the class. He thought about the incident in the streets they had witnessed earlier on.

Blaine was glad he had already put aside all his tension, otherwise confronting these problems may have been too overwhelming. Of course, even with a peaceful and clear conscience, facing all his problems altogether proved to be somewhat unsettling.

Ultimately, he managed to get all his troubles running through his head. He felt a little strange, like his mind was everywhere at once. It was a rather peculiar yet captivating sensation. Once he got this far, he asked Yuuga "What should I do now?"

"Try your hardest to maintain your current mindset," Yuuga directed him. After a moment of silence, he went on: "Now you can do pretty much whatever you want. You can let your impulses dictate your actions in a properly focused fashion. You can also do this without having your emotions slow you down. Oh, and you can open your eyes now."

Blaine opened his eyes, but his concentration did not break. He remained totally calm and level-headed, like nothing could disturb him. He turned to look at Yuuga, who was grinning widely.

"Quite a remarkable feeling, isn't it?" he stated.

"You could say that," Blaine concurred, "It's like I can sense everything around me."

"Good, that's how you should be feeling," Yuuga informed him, "With that level of focus, you can make almost any obstacle seem insignificant or surmountable. You get the feeling that nothing can stop you, but it doesn't incite you to do anything reckless or careless. All this you can accomplish without your emotions getting in the way."

"This sounds incredibly useful," stated Blaine, "Maybe I'll get a chance to use it later on. It may come in handy if we encounter another player."

"I've never used the concentration method in a physical struggle before," Yuuga remarked, "If it comes down to that, I would caution you to not rely solely on it for your survival."

"I wasn't making plans to," Blaine assured him.

"Good," stated Yuuga, "By the way, I'll let you in on an interesting thing I discovered one time when going through this exercise. I found that if you concentrate firmly enough, your focus can go one level further. Did you ever see _The Matrix_?"

"Yeah, it's a fantastic film," Blaine answered.

"You know how some of the characters managed to move at unrealistically fast rates?" remarked Yuuga, "They were able to do that because of how they built up their focus to almost supernatural levels. While it actually would be physically impossible to pull off some of the stunts they performed in that movie, I discovered that it **is **possible to build your focus to the degree that time seems to slow down. Of course, it could never truly slow down, but you can gain the ability to think and act much faster than normal."

"You mean you found a way to defy the laws of physics?" Blaine spoke, awestruck at the concept.

"Strictly speaking, no," Yuuga responded, "This is just an interesting innovation I stumbled across around the twentieth time I went through the concentration exercise. It's actually helped me out of a lot of difficult situations."

"What did you have to do to experience this sensation?" queried Blaine.

"Nothing particularly different," Yuuga elucidated, "Except for the number of problems I had to solve. You see, I've gone through the concentration exercise over a hundred times. But I only felt the sensation of time slowing down about seven or eight times. In every one of those events, I only had one problem on my mind. One critical problem that needed my immediate attention in order to be resolved."

"I can think of at least half a dozen different problems we're facing right now," Blaine pointed out, "I guess we won't be feeling that sensation any time soon."

"I suppose not," Yuuga agreed. He sat back against the wall and remarked "Looks like that pretty much wraps up the lessons for today."

"I'd like to thank you for teaching me them," Blaine remarked, smiling at his friend, "But I'd like to know something; how come you've never told anyone outside of me, Yuriye, or your therapist about them? You could make a fortune off of these techniques."

"I know I could," stated Yuuga, "The idea occurred to me a few times, Blaine, but these techniques aren't just exercises; they're also my own personal creation. In a way, that makes them a part of me. I keep them close so that nobody can learn about them unless I know I can trust those people to keep them a secret. My therapist is sworn to secrecy as much as a priest in confession, Yuriye is my best friend, and you… well, I just know I can trust you. After all, you brought yourself to trust me. That, and the fact that you were willing to learn these techniques without abusing them."

"You have my word, I won't tell another person about these methods ever," Blaine promised, "Not without your consent, at any rate."

"Thanks for that, Blaine," Yuuga remarked, "I know how you must feel. Believe me; normally I don't like keeping secrets either."

After Yuuga said this, Blaine turned to face the wall. Then he stated in a somewhat stern voice "In that case, would you care to tell me where you **really **were an hour ago?"

This question caught Yuuga totally off guard. He looked back at Blaine and asked "What do you mean?"

"Yuuga, while I know you're not an athlete, you're in pretty good shape," Blaine remarked, "When you returned to the mayor's office, you were red in the face and practically dripping with sweat. I find it difficult to believe that running up and down the lobby a few times would tire you that easily. Especially since this building is air-conditioned."

"Well, where else could I have gone?" Yuuga remarked. He was trying to remain indifferent, but Blaine thought he could detect a hint of anxiety in his voice.

Blaine turned down the hallway and pointed a foot-long black streak across the concrete floor. He said "You see that mark on the ground?"

Yuuga turned and looked, saying "Yeah, I see it."

"That wasn't there the last time you and I came down here," Blaine informed him, "That's the type of mark that's only left when a car jerks to a halt or a shoe slips across the ground. There are no tires down here, so a shoe must have left it."

"Alright, so let's say I did come down here," Yuuga stated, humoring Blaine, "What would have been the point? There aren't any windows; I wouldn't have been able to observe the gunfight in the street any better from here."

"That brings me to my next point," Blaine continued, "As you know, before we started the exercises, I double-checked the entrances to the bomb shelter. The western entrance was sealed off, but I made an interesting discovery when I went to check up on the eastern entrance. I found that the door was unlocked. Tatsuo came through that same entrance earlier this morning, but he told me he made certain to relock it before he went back up to the lobby."

"Did you relock the entrance?" queried Yuuga, trying to change the subject.

"Yes, of course I did," was Blain's response, "I'm not concerned that someone may have snuck inside, if that's what you're asking. There were no signs of forced entry. Besides, that type of door can only be unlocked from the outside with a skeleton key; it would take an expert locksmith to pick those locks. But from the inside, those locks can be undone as easily as any other lock."

There was a long, unpleasant interval of silence. Blaine slowly turned back to Yuuga and looked him in the eye. Even though Yuuga was an expert at controlling his emotions, Blaine could tell he was trying hard not to appear nervous.

After about twenty seconds, Blaine broke the silence with "You went outside, didn't you?"

Before Yuuga even had a chance to respond, Blaine continued: "I'll bet you were that gunman at the end of the street. The one that drove off the hooded figure with the submachine gun. Ingenious taking a spot from around the corner as a vantage point. From there, you'd have cover from the hooded figure and you would be concealed from the view of the window in the mayor's office. None of us would be able to see you."

Blaine was choosing his words very carefully. While it may have sounded like an outrageous accusation, he could tell that Yuuga was seriously struggling to retain his composure. He said "I'm right, am I not?"

Finally, Yuuga sighed and came forward with: "Yes, I admit it; there's no point in denying it. That was me, Blaine."

"I thought so," Blaine remarked. He had his arms folded and he looked quite serious, but he spoke somewhat indifferently, "I'm not upset or angry with you, Yuuga. I just want to know; what encouraged you to rush out there and do that?"

"Well… I…" Yuuga began tentatively, "It's a little hard to explain. But I'll try as best I can. You see, when that figure showed up and started firing off rounds without hesitation, I knew immediately that he must have been totally determined to win this game. When this realization hit me, I thought about what that player might do to everyone else. It then occurred to me that he would probably do the same thing to Yuriye. When this thought came to me, I panicked; I knew that that assailant would pose a threat to our safety, and Yuriye's if he came across her. So while you, Tatsuo, and Kiyomi were busy staring out the window, I slipped outside the mayor's office, headed down to the bomb shelter, left through the eastern entrance, and made my way around to the northwestern corner of the building. Then I took my Beretta and fired off several rounds."

Blaine took all this in gradually. None of it really surprised him; he was mostly just glad that Yuuga was being honest with him.

"I understand your reasons and your motivations," Blaine told his friend, "I'd have done the same thing if I felt that figure posed a threat to Kiyomi. However, you probably should have taken a little more time to contemplate the repercussions of your plan. And maybe you shouldn't have just rushed out so hastily without telling anyone about it. Such actions can get you killed."

"I know, I know," Yuuga commented, "But if it came down to it, I'd be willing to do it all over again."

"Well, if that happens, you may want to work on your aim a little bit first," Blaine remarked cheekily as he smirked, "You may be a qualified expert at controlling your emotions and teaching others how to control theirs, but **damn**, Yuuga; you are one lousy shot. I don't think a single one of your bullets went anywhere **near **that figure."

Yuuga chuckled a bit in response. That last comment actually made him brighten back up a little. He said in response "I can't really argue with that. You see, I've never used a gun before."

"I have some familiarity with them," Blaine informed him. He took off his shotgun and stated "As you know, my father is a marine. This specific type of shotgun was once issued to him when he served a tour in Africa. He's worked with over a dozen other types of guns, and he educated me on several of them."

"That's fascinating," stated Yuuga, "But how much firsthand experience have you had with guns?"

"I've only really used them at summer camp," Blaine admitted, "While my father does teach me about the guns he's assigned, he never takes any of them home; that's standard policy where we live. Needless to say, the guns at summer camp and the ones given to marines are quite different. However, I believe I can still give you some helpful pointers on guns later on if you want."

"Why not now?" suggested Yuuga, "I don't have anything planned for the present."

"Two reasons why not," Blaine answered, "One, it's almost time for the evening announcement. I don't think I could get in much before then. Two… before a lot of time passes, we may have to consider finding another place for shelter."

"What?" asked Yuuga in surprise as he sat up straight and at attention "What do you mean by that?"

"I don't think we should stay here much longer," Blaine thought aloud, "After all, that assailant may come back to search the area. He may get the idea to look inside City Hall. While we outnumber him, he could easily outgun us. I mean, what good would a shotgun, a pistol, a revolver, and a handgun be against a submachine gun?"

"That is a good point," Yuuga admitted, "But like you said a moment ago, we can't just rush out of here without preparations. We'll have to discuss things with Tatsuo and Kiyomi first. We'd also need to carefully pick the next building to move to."

"That sounds fair enough," Blaine agreed, "By the way, don't you already have plans to head out into the city soon? Plans to find Yuriye and such?"

"Yeah, and I plan to go through with that arrangement" Yuuga confirmed, "I'll go with you and the others as far as your next hideout. Once I know you're secure there and you've given me some tips about how to handle my gun… I think I'll head out."

Before the two of them could go on, they heard an electric shrieking sound, like some type of distortion wave. They quickly realized that the loudspeaker network was coming back online. It was time for the evening announcements.

"We'd better get back upstairs," Yuuga suggested, "It'll be hard to hear the loudspeakers from down here."

"Good call," Blaine agreed.

The two boys gathered up their supplies and made their way back up to the lobby. There they found Tatsuo getting out his map and class list. They did the same thing and quickly got ready to write down anything of importance.

…

In C-5, Shigenori Furutani leaned against a table in the teacher's lounge. He held his microphone in his right hand and absently tapped it against the palm of his left hand. He was waiting for the soldier seated at the broadcast station to give him the signal to begin speaking. His colleagues needed a few moments to bring the entire loudspeaker network online. Once the network was completely set up, the evening announcements could begin.

Furutani had been looking forward to this next announcement. While not much had happened in the past six hours, he was very pleased that the troublemaker responsible for the unauthorized use of the loudspeakers network had been exposed. In addition to that, a conspiracy against the Program had been put down.

In the past few hours, many avid fans of Battle Royale had called Furutani to place bets on who they thought would win this year's Program. While more than half of them were betting on Genji Nishihara, Eiko Hirakawa was quickly becoming popular as well. While he did not really care who would win the game, Furutani found himself favoring her as well. He had a particular fondness for deadly women.

When the clock on the wall went from 5:59 to 6:00, the soldier at the broadcast station waved his hand in the air. That was the signal meaning that the whole loudspeaker network was up and that Furutani could begin the announcements

The Program instructor held his microphone up to his mouth and stated brightly "Good evening, my young fighters. Quite a day it's been so far, has it not? Several of you have been busy in the past few hours."

He paused for a moment and then continued in a bit of a grim tone "However, I must say that I'm dissatisfied with your overall performance as a class. This afternoon only yielded a total of four deaths. Some of you managed to let your victims slip right by without even noticing! Then again… four is still better than nothing. All the same, I encourage you to try improving a bit before the day is out."

Furutani turned around and picked up the Program Obituary in his left hand. As he looked down at it, he said into the microphone "Now, we shall cover the casualties of the afternoon. First, there is Boy #12, Tanaka Jakobe-kun. Originally, I was not sure what to make of the class religious fanatic. At least he went down fighting. He certainly disproved the belief that Buddhists are totally docile and nonaggressive. While Buddha might not approve of his actions, I do… to a degree.

"Next on the list are Boy #16, Hayashi Kazumitsu-kun and Girl #2, Ishida Kaminari-san," Furutani went on, "These two were in the midst of formulating an excellent plan. Such a shame their negligence got in the way; otherwise they may have gotten away with their sinister scheme."

Furutani paused for a few moments. Then he chuckled softly and remarked "Lastly, we have Boy #19, Machida Teru-kun. Incidentally, the person responsible for that mishap with the loudspeakers has been caught. I'd like to convey my congratulations – and my thanks – to the person who took him out. This person – who shall remain anonymous for their own safety – is a fine example of how a contestant in the Program should ideally participate. Even when offered a way out, you turn it down."

Furutani put the Program Obituary back down on the table. After that, he continued talking into the microphone: "Now for the new danger zones. F-5 will be one at 1900 Hours. Then at 2100 Hours, D-7 becomes one as well. As of 2300 Hours, G-3 is a danger zone. Mark these down and don't forget them. I shouldn't have to remind you what happens if you so much as set foot in a forbidden area."

Furutani paused again to give the students time to note down everything he told them. Then he wrapped up the evening announcements with "The body count is currently at seventeen, a little more than a-third of the class. I'll bet that if you work hard, the class will be down to half its original size by the next announcement. Try to make that your goal. Now that it's getting dark outside, I would encourage you to be on your guard. Of course, you should be on your guard anyway, but you should be even more watchful than usual in the following hours. Remember that nighttime is when most predators come out to find their prey. Also, don't forget your friend Blaine Rhodes is still out there. Unless one of you manages to put him down in the next six hours, you'll hear from me again at midnight. Happy hunting!"

Furutani switched off his microphone and placed it back down on the table behind him. As he sat back down in his comfortable chair, the soldier at the broadcast station went to work. Within the next thirty seconds, the loudspeaker network went back offline.

The evening announcement had left a larger impact on the Program contestants than the announcements before it. Before they heard it, some of the students had hopes that escaping the Program would actually be possible. Now, most of these same people had serious doubts of such a thing; their hope was as dead as the people on the Program Obituary.

…

The four people who were the most affected by the announcements were in D-7.

Right before the announcements, Toshirou Oosaki and Gakuto Yamashita had finished harvesting everything of value from their first batch of nitroglycerin. Even though they had not used any of it yet, they still felt as though their minds had exploded.

A few minutes earlier, Osamu Sano had resumed his pacing. His primary reason for pacing in the first place was that he had been wondering why Kaminari and Kazumitsu had not returned yet. Now he had his answer, but he did not stop pacing. If anything, he quickened it.

"How the hell could this have happened?" he muttered furiously, "How could they both be dead? Who could have possibly had the means to bring both of them down?"

"They can't be dead," Reika Fujihara mumbled in denial, "They just can't be; Furutani must have been lying to us."

"You think he was lying to us?" Gakuto countered, "What would he possibly gain from that?"

"Well, he knows about our plans to develop chemical weapons," Reika pointed out, "He may want to throw us off track to slow down our progress or destroy our focus. Maybe the two of them are actually lurking somewhere out in the city and they're just trapped or lost."

"I doubt that would be the case," remarked Toshirou, "The only way someone could get trapped would be if they were pinned down. Kazumitsu's got a flamethrower; it would take over five players to pin him down. Besides, even if he and Kaminari **were** trapped somewhere, they would surely be able to find an alternate way out."

"It would also be foolish to think they were lost," Gakuto commented, "They both had their supply packs on hand, and they had their maps in their supply packs. The only way they could get lost would be if they both somehow… 'misplaced' their supply packs. There is no way either of them could be that clumsy. Besides, they both had a good sense of direction."

"Why do you keep saying they 'had' things?" Reika yelled angrily, "You're already referring to them as if they're long gone? What is **wrong** with you, Gakuto?"

"I'm just acknowledging the truth, Reika," Gakuto calmly responded, "You said yourself that there's no point in believing something that cannot immediately be proven to be true. I'd have thought you'd be able to grasp the truth more quickly than the rest of us."

"What are you saying?" she muttered defensively, "Are you implying that just because I was the first of us to suggest the possibility that they were not coming that I should not be the least bit phased now that we know they aren't?"

"Of course not," Gakuto sharply retorted, "You think I'm not sad? They were my friends, too, you know! But they're gone now, and nothing can change that! Get that into your head!"

Reika jumped out of her seat and stomped over to Gakuto. She raised her arm as if she was going to slap him. But right before she could reach him, Osamu stepped in front of her and grabbed her by the arms.

"Reika, stop it!" Osamu shouted as she struggled to get out of his grasp. There was a look of pure anger in her eyes. He had never seen her this angry before. He still did not give up his efforts to restrain her. After about twenty seconds, Reika gave up her struggle, but Osamu continued holding her back by her arms. However, he made certain to hold her in such a way that he would not hurt her. He whispered to her softly "Just calm down. Please, just calm down."

Eventually, Reika eased down entirely. The look of anger in her eyes was starting to fade. Osamu still held her by the wrists as he told her "Look, I know you're upset; we all are. Kaminari and Kazumitsu were good friends. But there will be a time to mourn for them later. They're dead, but we're alive. If we want it to stay that way, we can't let their deaths get to us. We'll just fall apart that way. And now more than ever, we need to stick together."

"Okay, okay," she told him as she calmed down and complied with his request, "I'm sorry; I'm really very sorry. I didn't mean to act up like that."

She turned to Gakuto and was about to open her mouth, but he just held up his hand and said "No need to apologize, Reika. I guess I was being a little insensitive, and I'm sorry if I offended you."

"I'm glad to know that," she said calmly, "I'd hate for our group to fall apart even further because I became a weak link in it."

"That's the least of our worries right now," Toshirou commented, "In my opinion, Kaminari and Kazumitsu's deaths aren't the most unsettling ones from the last announcement. What about Teru's death? Now that he's gone, we can pretty much kiss any chance of escaping good-bye."

"He's right," Gakuto declared, "While we have the nitroglycerin, there's no way we would be able to use it against the school unless the danger zones were disabled. Had Teru managed to use his disruption code against the school, he would have theoretically been able to knock out all the danger zones. Now that he's dead… nothing of the sort will happen. At present, escape is little more than a fantasy for us. We're on our own now."

"Teru's death is an unfortunate loss," Osamu concurred, "However, on the subject of danger zones, I think that the most pressing topic at hand is the matter of the places set to become forbidden tonight. You may recall Furutani said that in 2100 Hours, this area becomes a danger zone."

"That's correct," Toshirou remarked in frustration, "That means we have three hours to clear out of here. Otherwise we'll lose our heads. What should we do?"

He, Gakuto, and Reika turned to Osamu. Whenever the group hit a spot of trouble, they had always looked to him for answers. Even though Kazumitsu and Kaminari were gone, their view of his competence as their leader had not changed.

When taking the scenario in perspective, he realized that they were in dire need of a plan. So he began pacing again to keep his mind focused. He rubbed his chin as he contemplated all their available options. After a minute of silence, he turned to Gakuto and – as he gestured towards all the materials from the chemical storage building – asked him "How much of this stuff do you think can be transported?"

"Pretty much all of it," Gakuto answered straightforwardly, "However, I'm not certain we'd be able to haul all of it out of here before nine o'clock. I mean, we don't have the car anymore. Our only option would be to use the trolley, and it can only hold so much at any one time."

"Alright then," stated Osamu, "How much of this do you think you're going to use? More importantly, how much do you think you'll actually **need**?"

"Originally, I had hoped to use all of it," Gakuto informed him, "Seeing as how we're pressed for time, I don't think that's going to happen. That being said, I think I can bring myself to part with most of it. But there are still a number of things I want to bring along."

"Alright, you pick out anything you think we'll need," Osamu ordered him, "In the meantime, I'll work out an ideal place for us to move it all to."

Gakuto quickly went to work sorting out the supplies on the tables. At the same time, Osamu dug his map out of his supply pack and began studying it. He thought aloud "According to this, we're right in the center of D-7. We'd have to walk half a mile in any direction before we got to safety."

"It we sprinted, we might be able to get out of the area in a little over five minutes" Reika hypothesized, "Of course, it would be foolish to just make a run for it. We'd have to be on our guard and advance block by block throughout the city. If we want to be extremely cautious, I'd estimate it would take about twelve minutes minimum for us to clear the area."

"It might take even longer with a loaded trolley in tow," Osamu noted, "If we're really fortunate and don't encounter any players, it may take about twenty minutes total."

"That's good enough for me," Toshirou remarked, "For the moment, there's something I feel we need to address."

"What might that be?" asked Reika.

"After we're finished moving all this equipment, I think we should investigate D-5," Toshirou suggested.

"Why's that?" stated Osamu.

"It's only a hunch, but I don't think we should totally dismiss the possibility of escape just yet," Toshirou thought aloud, "Maybe Teru finished rewriting his disruption code and he had it on him when he died. If that's the case, maybe we can pick up from where he left off."

"You know, that's not a bad idea," said Reika, "And given the circumstances, I'd be willing to try out anything."

"It's certainly an option worth considering," Gakuto commented, "After all, Teru would not have taken the time to organize his plan unless he was absolutely certain it would have a reasonable chance of success."

"We'll find out about that later," Osamu assured his friends, "For now, we have our own well-being to worry about. First, let's pick out a new hideout, assemble all the materials we'll need, transport all of them out of this area, and move the materials and ourselves somewhere safe. Then we can return to the matter of Teru and the status of his unfinished plan."

The others agreed to this arrangement. They continued working to put together a new strategy for long-term survival. The group had lost two of its members, but the remaining four were as strong and committed to each other as ever. They did not plan to fall victim to the same fate as their friends.

**28 Students Remaining**


	25. Trouble At Every Turn

Yuuga Suzuki had told Blaine Rhodes the truth of his whereabouts earlier on. He had indeed been the person who fired at the hooded figure from around the northwestern corner of City Hall. His actions may have been a little reckless, but at the very least, they had given Kenzou Iwamoto (Boy #3) time to escape from the alleyway and get to safety.

However, Kenzou had mistaken Yuuga for Shuuichi Kai (Boy #7). He thought Shuuichi was the one who fired at the assailant. Up until this point, the only reason Kenzou had decided to partner up with Shuuichi was because of his reputation in the marksman club. From what he heard and what he witnessed earlier than morning, he was convinced that Shuuichi could shoot down anyone at a certain distance. Kenzou reasoned out that that would make Shuuichi an ideal partner in the Program

So when he saw every single one of Yuuga's shots miss the assailant, Kenzou felt a serious need to reevaluate his observations. He was glad he had managed to elude the hooded figure, but he inwardly cursed himself from being so quick to put his faith in Shuuichi's capabilities with a firearm. He felt like a fool for doing so.

One may wonder what happened to Shuuichi anyway. One would theorize that as soon as Kenzou helped him over the fence, Shuuichi made a run for it and abandoned Kenzou. This may seem like a reasonable assumption, but it would be erroneous.

After Shuuichi made it over the wooden barricade, he immediately drew his handgun and ran down the alley. When he heard his footsteps echo loudly, he quickly reduced his pace to a stride. By then, he had reached the other end of the alley. He carefully poked his head out and gazed in both directions. When he was certain that no one else was in the area, he sauntered out into the street. He turned to his right and began making his way to the north.

Shuuichi walked at a very slow pace. He did this for two reasons. One reason was that he did not want to risk the possibility that his footsteps would reverberate off the walls again. The other reason was that he was still somewhat fatigued from the blood donation he had made earlier on.

Just before he made it to the end of the block, Shuuichi stumbled and leaned against the wall of the building next to him. He decided to pause for a moment and rest so that he could try to regain his coordination. While eliminating the hooded figure and saving Kenzou were high on his list of priorities, he decided that they could wait a bit to be accomplished.

Five minutes went later, Shuuichi felt much better. He was still a little lightheaded, but he decided that he had already wasted enough time. He stood up straight as best he could and continued advancing towards the corner of the block.

That was when Yuuga made his move. Shuuichi had been over a block away, but he had heard the gunshots from Yuuga's firearm clear as day. This made Shuuichi quite apprehensive and a little nervous. He wondered; had the hooded figure's gunfire attracted more players to the scene?

Right before Shuuichi could investigate, a familiar sound filled the air. That was the sound of the same submachine gun wielded by the hooded figure. This was all the proof Shuuichi needed to confirm that his suspicions were correct. More players were in the area.

Shuuichi eased forward to the end of the street and peaked around the corner. He saw one of his classmates standing further down the road at the northwestern corner of City Hall. The only thing Shuuichi could identify about new arrival was the gender. Based on the attire of a uniform suit, it must have been one of his male classmates. This was Yuuga.

Shuuichi easily determined on his own that Yuuga was engaged in a gunfight with the hooded figure. From what he could tell, Yuuga was no expert on guns. Shuuichi could spot at least half a dozen mistakes Yuuga was making with the way he was handling his weapon. The most obvious one was that he was missing his target, as he could still hear the submachine gun being fired.

Before long, Shuuichi saw Yuuga retreat back the way he came. Shuuichi expected the hooded figure to pursue him. So he pointed his gun down the block and waited for the assailant to come out into the street.

Unfortunately, the hooded figure never came that way. Shuuichi heard the submachine gun being fired once more, but it sounded as though he was firing in the opposite direction. At first, Shuuichi was confused, but then it occurred to him that the hooded figure must have found Kenzou. If that was the case, the assailant would have realized that only one of his two targets was accounted for, and that the other was probably in the area.

When this possibility crossed his mind, Shuuichi went into a panic. Out of impulse, he shoved his handgun into his belt, turned to the north, and sprinted away from the vicinity. All he was concerned about was keeping himself alive. He just ran and ran without looking back even once.

He kept running for about fifteen minutes. Only then did he consider resting, but that was when the explosion at the gas station in F-4 took place. Shuuichi was in G-5 at this time, which placed him about a mile north of City Hall and a mile and a half east-northeast of the gas station. Even from that distance, he could hear and feel the explosion. So instead of pausing to rest, Shuuichi jogged faster than ever.

Another thirty-five minutes later, he stopped to catch his breath. Needless to say, it was a much needed breather. Running for so long without breaking proved to be a fatal mistake. Under normal circumstances, Shuuichi's biggest concern would be dehydration. But he was faced with much more serious complications than the amount of water in his body.

Most blood donors give only one pint of blood per drive. They are also advised not to overexert themselves for at least the rest of the day afterwards. Less than four hours earlier, Shuuichi had given two pints of his blood to Daisuke. In the time since then, he had dodged bullets, climbed a fence, and sprinted for at least three miles.

At this point, Shuuichi could barely even stand. He felt extremely delirious and he could barely focus on his surroundings. He also felt a tremendous urge to collapse onto the ground. But he was not so foolish as to faint while he was out in the open. He knew he had to find some shelter. He needed somewhere safe where he could recuperate.

Shuuichi staggered over to the nearest building and propped his body against it. Once he was adequately supported, he opened his supply pack and dug out his map. All the while, he tried his hardest to stay on his feet.

First, he looked around the area for a large building, or something else that conspicuously stood out from the rest of the environment. That way he would be able to pinpoint his location. A minute later, he spotted a sign which indicated the name of the street he was on. From there, Shuuichi managed to determine that he was just above the southern border of B-6. He was over three and a half miles north of City Hall.

Now that he knew where he was, he could work on picking a new hideout. He recalled that earlier that day when he had been in a group, Tsukasa had suggested using the theater in B-6 as a hideout. In fact, if Daisuke had not gotten shot, that was where they would all be at this time. Shuuichi decided to check his map again and see if the theater was in close proximity to his location.

At first, he could not find anything with the word "Theater" in it. So he studied the map a little more closely and found one of the buildings had the words "Performing Arts Center" written next to it. Shuuichi concluded that that must have been the theater. He noticed something quite interesting; according to the map, the building was just down the street, not two blocks from his position.

Shuuichi decided that the theater was his best chance. He put away his map, zipped up his supply pack, and began shuffling down the street. Every now and then, he glanced over his shoulders to make certain he was not being followed.

About ten minutes later, he reached the theater. It certainly looked welcoming enough. Then again, after running for over a half-hour with a dazed state of mind, any form of shelter can appear pleasant.

Shuuichi slowly approached the front entrance and pulled the door open with some difficulty. When it was wide enough for him to pass through, he stepped inside. As the door shut behind him, Shuuichi gazed around the lobby. It appeared to be empty, and that was good enough for Shuuichi. He would have searched the room to make certain it actually was deserted, but he was much too dizzy and exhausted at this time to concentrate on anything other than recovering his strength and coordination.

However, he did decide that it would be a better idea to park further into the building. He did not want to risk someone passing by and seeing him through the glass doors. So he made his way over to the entrances to the theater and pushed through. Now he was standing in an enormous auditorium. It was a large three-story theater; over a thousand people could be seated on the ground level alone. It was dimly lit from some light peering in from underneath the emergency exits. Other than that, the place was covered in darkness. That was more than satisfactory for Shuuichi.

On the ground floor, there were four sections of seats with five aisles dividing them. Shuuichi made his way down the center aisle and paused when he was about ten rows away from the stage. Then he walked into the row on his left, slipped his bags off his shoulders, and collapsed into the first seat on the end. Then he closed his eyes, leaned his head back, and took in some steady breaths.

He chose a fine time to get some rest. His legs may have given out if he had walked any further. Shuuichi decided that he would stay in the theater until further notice. Or, at the very least, he would remain there until his head was clear and he had his energy back.

Shuuichi had arrived at the theater at around 4:30. In all that time, he had remained sitting in that exact section in that exact same row in that exact same seat. As far as he knew, no one else had entered or exited the building since then.

Of course, that did not necessarily mean that he was alone.

…

Most of the members of Class 3-A had already been through serious amounts of stress in the first eighteen hours of the Program. Some of them had neared their tolerance threshold for stress at least once. Naozumi Matsuno (Boy #20) had already neared his threshold three times. The first occasion took place that morning when he was wandering the city streets all on his own. When he managed to team up with his best friend Daisuke Araki (Boy #1) and three of his other classmates, his stress was temporarily alleviated. The second occasion took place during the encounter with the sniper when Tsukasa Yoshizawa was killed. When Shuuichi Kai managed to gun down the sniper, Naozumi's stress was relived once more. This time, his relief was short-lived, as the third occasion happened almost immediately afterwards. This was when he discovered that the sniper's last round had hit Daisuke directly in the chest cavity.

Naozumi had never fully recovered from this stress, but after Kenzou Iwamoto managed to extract the bullet from Daisuke's chest, he did feel significantly more relaxed. Ever since Shuuichi and Kenzou had left the hospital to look for another potential hideout, he had stayed seated as the side of Daisuke's bed. He never left the room for anything. He tried to convince himself that his best friend would recover, but he still worried about Daisuke's safety. The two boys had always watched out for each other since the day they became acquainted. But in Daisuke's weakened state, Naozumi could only rely on himself to keep both of them safe.

Naozumi was glad Kenzou had given him Tsukasa's rifle before he and Shuuichi went to investigate the fire department. In the time since then, he had gotten the manual from Tsukasa's supply pack and read up on how to operate the rifle. Despite his size and strength, Naozumi was not a violent person. But he was willing to use any amount of force to defend Daisuke.

Naozumi had spent the majority of the afternoon reading the gun manual. He had paused only five times.

One time was when Daisuke said he needed to use the bathroom. He was still in no condition to stand, so Naozumi brought him a bedpan from the restroom. Daisuke ended up needing some assistance using it. It was unpleasant business, but Naozumi did not care; he was just glad to help his friend.

Another time Naozumi paused from reading was when Daisuke asked for some rations. The gentle giant got out some bread and water from his supply pack and gave it to him. At first, Daisuke was hesitant to accept Naozumi's food when his own was right by, but his best friend insisted that he take it. The two of them ate a late lunch in silence.

Two more times when Naozumi paused, Daisuke informed him that the pain he felt earlier had returned. Both times, Naozumi gave him another shot of morphine. He was careful to administer the injection in the exact same manner Kenzou had instructed him to use.

The last time was when the explosion in F-4 had taken place. The gas station was only a mile west of the hospital. Even though Daisuke and Naozumi were inside the hospital, they could feel and hear the explosion quite clearly. The two of them were initially startled, but they eased down shortly after. The room they were in was along the western side of the hospital. Naozumi gazed out of it and saw smoke rising in the distance; someone must have started a fire. He and Daisuke spent some time speculating on what the cause of the fire could have been, and if it may have been related to the noise and vibrations from the explosion.

A short while later, they decided to just forget about the explosion and try to remain calm. However, as more time passed, they began wondering why Shuuichi and Kenzou had not returned yet. They considered multiple possibilities. Maybe the fire department was difficult to find, even with the help of a map. Maybe the most secure route to it was complicated and not easily accessible. Maybe they had already arrived at the fire department and it did not look as promising as they hoped.

It never occurred to Naozumi or Daisuke that Shuuichi and Kenzou may have abandoned them. However, it did occur to them that their classmates may have encountered a player. They did not like thinking about this prospect, but they knew they could not dismiss it.

After the evening announcements, Naozumi and Daisuke discovered that Shuuichi and Kenzou's whereabouts were the least of their worries. The whole reason the two of them had left for the fire department in the first place was so that if the hospital was to go danger zone, the group would have another place to go. As it turned out, the area the hospital was in had indeed been selected as the very next section to become a danger zone. Shuuichi and Kenzou still had not returned.

However, Naozumi was not about to stick around and wait for them. He decided that it was not safe for him and Daisuke to stay in F-5 for even a minute longer. They had to get out of the area as quickly as possible and find another hideout.

"Where do you think we should go now?" Naozumi queried as he dug out his map.

"I don't think you should worry yourself with that," Daisuke stated softly as he tried to sit up.

"What?" Naozumi remarked in surprise, turning to his best friend, "Are you saying we should stay here?"

"No, I'm saying that **I **should," Daisuke clarified, "You should just worry about keeping yourself safe, Naozumi. Forget about me."

Naozumi was shocked to hear such a request. "Daisuke, are you feeling alright? Am I hearing you clearly? Are you saying that you actually want me to abandon you?"

"Yes, I do," Daisuke replied, "How long do you think I'd last out there? It's hard enough for me to speak to you clearly. Hell, I don't even have the strength to stand."

"I don't care," Naozumi countered, "There are ways around that problem. I can get you a wheelchair. I can push you along in that bed. If it came down to it, I'd even be willing to carry you. After all, that's how we got you here."

"I know, but I want you to leave me, Nao," Daisuke whispered, "I'll only slow you down."

"Stop it," Naozumi demanded quietly but sternly, "Stop talking like that right now. What kind of man leaves his own best friend for dead? That would be no better than if I chose to kill you myself."

"You're wasting time debating with me," Daisuke muttered, a note of frustration in his voice, "If we were to run into trouble, I wouldn't be able to fight back. I don't want you getting yourself killed on account of me."

"I have no intention of dying just yet, Dai," Naozumi countered boldly, "Now, I want you to listen to what I have to say. All my life, you've been there for me. You've defended me against people who mocked me, bullied me, and people who wanted to exploit me for my stature. You did that all because I was too much of a coward to stand up for myself. Now, it's my turn to return the favor. This is a life-and-death scenario; I'm more than willing to fight back under these circumstances. Please, let me protect you for as long as I can. If I'm going down, I want to at least go down knowing that I did not let my best friend down."

Daisuke was both touched and impressed by Naozumi's words. He could tell that his best friend was firmly resolved on this matter and that he had no intention of bending his decision. That really demonstrated just how devoted he was.

He lightly smiled up at Naozumi and told him "Alright, you win."

Naozumi smiled back and walked over to his best friend. He patted him on the back and told him "I'm glad I got those crazy ideas out of your head. Now, where do you think we should go next?"

"Well, I was beginning to think that maybe the fire department is a bad idea after all," stated Daisuke, "In fact, I think we should try to avoid going any further into the city."

"How come?" asked Naozumi, "Do you think Shuuichi and Kenzou ran into some trouble?"

"Well, they weren't on the even announcements," Daisuke recalled, "So, we know they're not dead. But that doesn't necessarily mean that they went unnoticed. That being said, I wouldn't risk finding out who else may be near the center of the city. That's where we would end up if we went to the east. Plus, we'd be out in the open."

"Then, where would you suggest we go?" inquired Naozumi.

"For now, I think we should travel in the opposite direction," Daisuke responded, "We can try our luck again in the western apartment complex."

"That path would take us right through the area that explosion originated from," Naozumi pointed out, "If the person responsible for it is not still there, other players may have arrived at the scene."

"We could go around it," Daisuke suggested, "Or we can proceed with extreme caution. Either way, I'd still feel more comfortable going to the apartment complex. It's much easier to hide and stake out there."

Ultimately, Naozumi agreed to his best friend's proposition. He was glad that the bed was on wheels; he decided to use it to transport Daisuke on the streets.

Naozumi gathered up all the bags in the room and organized them. He placed Daisuke's supply pack and backpack on the bed, along with Tsukasa's supply pack. Then he slung his own backpack and supply pack over his shoulders. He picked up the Winchester rifle and – after making certain it was locked and loaded – tucked it underneath his arm.

The last two things he picked up was the bottle of morphine and his tomahawk. He gave both of them to Daisuke, who was a little confused as to why Naozumi gave him the latter object.

"I already have this," Naozumi remarked, gesturing to Tsukasa's rifle, "In case we encounter any… difficulties, I want you to at least have a chance to fight back. That's why I think my tomahawk would be of more use to you."

Daisuke nodded his head in agreement. Having a weapon actually did make him feel a little better.

Once Naozumi had all their supplies gathered up, he went over to the stand with the IV. He saw that the bag still had plenty of fluids left in it. He had a feeling that the fluids would still be of use to Daisuke, so he decided to bring the IV stand along. He took the IV stand and rolled it next to the bed. Then he began rolling both objects towards the door. He pulled it open and carefully pushed them out into the hallway. He made his way over to the elevator and pressed the "down" button. A minute later, the horizontal doors opened and Naozumi pushed the bed and IV stand inside. Then he pressed the "1" button. The doors closed and the elevator descended one story. When the doors opened up again, Naozumi rolled the bed and stand out into the lobby. Then he made his way to the front entrance. The automatic doors slowly slid open for them. A few seconds later, the two boys were outside in the city. Naozumi took a deep breath and began rolling the bed and stand down the street. He had no idea what the Program had in store for them next, but he was determined not to fail his friend. He stayed calm and tranquil; he did not plan to reach his tolerance threshold for stress a fourth time.

…

Naozumi and Daisuke were not the only ones who had plans to relocate to a new hideout. A mile east of the hospital, a group of four had the same stratagem in mind.

Back in City Hall, after the evening announcements, Yuuga Suzuki and Blaine Rhodes had struck up a conversation with Kiyomi Takayama and Tatsuo Inoue. They were in the mayor's office discussing the suggestion Blaine had made to contemplate a new hideout

"Are you certain that's such a wise idea?" asked Tatsuo, "With the exception of the school, this is the only building in the entire city that any of us have been in all day. It's the only one we know the layout of. Truthfully, it's the only one I'm comfortable in."

"I understand your position, Tatsuo," stated Blaine, "I'm not saying that we should move to a new location immediately. I'm simply saying that it would be smart of us to consider a few alternative hideouts in case future complications force us to evacuate."

"What sort of complications?" inquired Kiyomi.

"That hooded figure might come back," Blaine elucidated, "Although we're all equipped with firearms, he could easily outgun us with that submachine gun. He may not even have the deadliest overall weapon. On that note, someone with even stronger firepower could show up here. If that was the case, all we could do is barricade ourselves in the bomb shelter."

"That is a good point," Yuuga concurred, "There is also the chance that this vicinity may eventually become a danger zone. After all, F-5 is set to become forbidden in under an hour. That's the first zone immediately west of here. That's just a little too close for comfort, if you ask me."

"Those are some good points," commented Tatsuo, "But where would you recommend we go? If we really are going to move around the city, I'd like to have a specific destination in mind. I would prefer it if that destination would be somewhere we have a significant chance of surviving at."

The four of them had been seated in a circle on the ground. Blaine had his back against the mayor's desk. After Tatsuo spoke, Blaine stood up, walked around the desk, and extracted a folder labeled "City Construction Designs" from the open filing cabinet.

As he walked back around the desk to the others, Blaine told them "These blueprints may be of some use. They display detailed layouts of virtually every major building in the entire city. Odds are we'll find at least one promising prospect amongst them."

The others found this to be a sensible approach. They could all agree that having prior knowledge of the city would be useful in selecting a new hideout.

The four of them spent a good bit of time looking over various drawings and charts. Several of them looked encouraging at first glance, but upon further examination, most of the foundations appeared to have certain features that could end up compromising the group's safety.

One example was the mall in A-7. Tatsuo suggested using it because it would have numerous available hiding spots. Kiyomi advised against it, arguing that the building was much too large to keep track of everything at once. The three boys took her word for it; they knew better than to question a woman's assessment of a shopping mall.

Another example was the police station in D-5. Blaine had presented this building as an option, claiming that it would be as fortified as the bomb shelter in City Hall. Tatsuo put this option down by pointing out that the police station was far too close to the school.

All four of them submitted at least one suggestion, all four of them had at least one of their suggestions turned down, and all four of them turned down at least one other person's suggestion.

Finally, after many more rejections, Yuuga found the most ideal candidate. There was a hotel in E-5, just a mile northwest of City Hall. Its lobby was vast, but there were plenty of storage rooms and suites that could make fine areas to stake out in. They could seal off all the entrances and even retreat to the roof if need be.

"I think we have a winner," Kiyomi commented cheekily.

"I'm inclined to agree," Blaine told his girlfriend, "The hotel looks like a good deal. We may even be able to sleep soundly tonight."

"Yeah, I'm all for the full bed and breakfast treatment," Tatsuo joked, "That's something all of us could use about now."

"Sounds fine to me," stated Blaine, "But we'd still have one problem. I'm certain you all know what I mean by that. This is the one problem we cannot take for granted, regardless of where we end up going."

"We don't know if someone else has already set up camp there?" stated Tatsuo.

"Exactly," Blaine confirmed, "It would not do us any good if we just walked right into an ambush or anything else of the sort."

"He's right," Kiyomi agreed, "We'd have to take some precautions beforehand. How can we ascertain the safety of the hotel while minimalizing the threat of the danger at the same time?"

"One of us could scout ahead," Tatsuo suggested, "That would certainly maximize the safety for three of us. The scout would be the only person at any risk. But as long as the scout did nothing hasty, naïve, negligent, or stupid, he should be alright."

"That's actually a pretty decent strategy," stated Blaine, nodding in approval, "But which of us should go?"

There was a short period of silence as the four students looked around at each other. They were waiting for someone to speak out.

Finally, Yuuga held up his hand and thought aloud "I suppose I may as well do it."

Blaine was a little stunned by the firmness in Yuuga's voice. He was obviously more than willing to be the one to scout ahead. "Any particular reason why, Yuuga?"

"I just figured I'm the most qualified amongst us for the job," Yuuga stated, "After all, Kiyomi's still got that injury from earlier, you've got that bounty on your head, and Tatsuo is not exactly the most discreet person I know. No offense, Tatsuo."

The western culture fanatic merely chuckled and said to the empathetic boy "None taken, Yuuga."

Yuuga smirked and told the others "Besides, I still have a plan to search the city for Yuriye. I fully intend to go through with that. Now would be the most ideal time to begin, seeing as how it's starting to get dark outside."

After he said this, he gestured out the window. The others looked and saw that the sun was indeed starting to set over in the horizon. "If I know Yuriye – and it's safe to say that I know her better than anyone else in this entire class does – she would not have done anything to risk her safety. She's probably been inside a building all day. The only reason she'd leave would be if her hideout was in a future danger zone. Now that the night's coming on, she'll probably start browsing the streets of the city."

"Do you think she'll be looking for you, too?" queried Kiyomi.

"She might be," Yuuga admitted, "If that's the case, she would also be searching for the other members of her clique. Unless she's already met up with them, of course."

"Well, we can't stop you from leaving the group, Yuuga," stated Blaine, "But out of curiosity, how much longer do you want to remain with us?"

"I'll stay with you guys up until we've all gotten to the hotel," Yuuga replied straightforwardly, "First, I'll head over there and make certain it's safe. Then I'll come back here and lead you guys there. Once you're settled in, we'll part ways."

"That sounds like a reasonable arrangement," Tatsuo stated, "But are you absolutely certain you'll be alright out there on your own? That hooded figure can't be the only one who's gotten ambitious."

"Yes, absolutely," answered Yuuga, "As long as I'm careful and I'm able to 'read faces,' I should be able to manage going solo."

"In that case, we'll take your word for it," Kiyomi commented, "When do you want to head off to the hotel?"

"The sooner, the better," Yuuga reasoned, "If you three don't have any objections, I'll go now."

"Just a moment, Yuuga," Blaine interjected, "Before you leave, let me give you some tips on how to handle your gun. They'll really come in handy if ever you're in a scenario where you're forced to use it."

Yuuga remembered Blaine had presented him this offer earlier on. Given the circumstances, he was more than willing to accept a little coaching in firearms. After all, in the Program, one had to fight to defend one's keep. The ability to properly handle a gun would make that task easier.

Over the next ten minutes, Blaine told Yuuga everything he knew about guns. His knowledge and experience of them was limited to what he had learned at summer camp and from his father, but it was still very insightful and useful.

He taught Yuuga how to properly display his gun, how to hold it steady, and how to compensate for any kickbacks or misfires. He told him that he needed to respect the gun and to treat it as if it was always loaded and always had the safety on. He told him not to spend too much time on aiming and to instead just point and shoot; he would actually have a much better chance of hitting his target that way, especially if the target was moving. He told him to conserve his ammunition; otherwise he could end up emptying entire magazines without hitting anything.

Finally, after those ten minutes passed, Yuuga took out his map and looked over the logistics of the area. He wanted to give the others some idea of when to expect him to return.

"It's about a 15-minute walk in either direction," Yuuga estimated, "It would take about a half-hour to get there and back. Plus another ten minutes to search the lobby. You should expect me back here between forty and fifty minutes from now."

"What if you're not back by then?" enquired Tatsuo.

"Then just assume that I'm taking longer than I thought I would," Yuuga replied, "Don't worry about me; I'll be fine. The three of you should just concentrate on looking out for each other. Especially Blaine. Tatsuo, Kiyomi, promise me you'll keep him out of trouble. He's got to be the number one target on at least a few of the players' 'to do' lists."

While Yuuga sounded as though he may have been jesting, the others could tell he was very serious. After he gathered up his backpack and supply pack, he bid the others good luck and fairly well. They did the same as they watched him open the door to the mayor's office and pass through it.

Yuuga quickly approached the massive double doors and pushed them open. He peered outside to make certain that the coast was clear. When he found that it was, he drew his Beretta, slipped through the entrance, made his way down the stairs.

When he reached the base of the staircase, he kept one eye on his map and the other eye on the area around him. He turned to his right and went to the end of the street. Then he cautiously turned to the north and turned onto the intersecting road. This was the same road that gunfight had taken place earlier on.

Certain sections of the pavement were littered with bullet casings. There were too many for him to even attempt counting. Not that their quantity mattered to him in the slightest. All he needed to know was that it would only take a few seconds for a couple hundred of them to be fired in his direction. Knowing this encouraged Yuuga to stay on his guard.

A minute later, he reached the end of the street and turned to the west. When he walked that way, he completely disappeared from sight of City Hall.

However, a few seconds beforehand, two figures had appeared at other end of the street. They had been peering down the street from around the southwestern corner of City Hall.

Shortly after this, they stepped out into the open and cautiously headed up the street. When they reached the northern end, they turned to the left and followed the path to the west. This was the same path Yuuga had taken just moments earlier.

…

Pantophobia. This is one term most people may not be familiar with. Those who are would recognize it as a word commonly used to describe the fear of everything.

Shizuye Chida (Girl #14) was well-acquainted with the concept of pantophobia. Many of her classmates believed that she may have had a mild case of this phobia. Truth be told, she would not have been surprised if she did. That would certainly explain why she had several irrational fears.

The list of things that frightened Shizuye was quite extensive. She had some of the common phobias like the fears of heights and savage animals. But she also had some quite unusual phobias as well.

Shizuye was not neurotic, hypochondriac, or paranoid. She was simply the kind of person that can be easily intimidated by something that unsettled her.

One uncommon fear she had was a fear of pigs. She could not even stand the sight of a pig. She did not know why she had this fear; it may have been because she read George Orwell's _Animal Farm _at a very early age. After reading it, Shizuye became convinced that pigs were murderous, conniving, tyrannical creatures that wanted to become the dominant species over all other organisms, including humans. In her opinion, the only tolerable type of pig was the type served hot on a plate.

Another abnormal fear she had was a fear of air fresheners. She had had this one ever since elementary school. It began and developed in history class when the teacher discussed the manufacture of biological weapons in both World Wars. All the talk of mustard gas and chlorine gas made Shizuye feel extremely uncomfortable about manmade airborne chemical mixtures. She managed to hold back on this discomfort during chemistry class, but that was only because she always had plenty of safety equipment. Outside of class, she had no way to protect herself from artificial chemical gasses. She particularly disliked air fresheners because inhaling them made her feel nauseous, and nausea was often the first indication of the lungs developing respiratory ailments when toxic particles were involved.

There was one thing Shizuye feared above all else. Her most profound fear was of being alone. Naturally, having so many fears had made her seem characteristically timorous and shy. In fact, more people distinguished her for being mistrustful around people than for her pantophobia. One would assume she would be reluctant to make friends. This was not true; Shizuye had nothing against making friends. But she was often quite hesitant and selective in choosing who she would have as a friend. The primary reason she wanted to have friends in the first place was so that she could socialize with people she could trust. That way she would not have to be on her own. In fact, Shizuye did not just fear solitude; she downright abhorred it.

Alas, she had been on her own all day long.

As soon as Shizuye left the school, she had tried to get as far away as possible from that area. She had ended up going all the way to the southwestern corner of the western apartment complex in J-1. She had been there most of the day. Several times she had contemplated leaving her comfort spot and to attempt to find her friends. But every time she was about to actually go through with it, she thought she heard a gunshot or some other ominous sound in the distance. That quickly convinced her that going outside would be a bad idea.

She had barely heard or felt the explosion in F-4, but experiencing its aftereffects still made her feel uneasy. However, it had been hours since the explosion had taken place. She had not heard or felt anything else of the sort since then. With that in mind, she was beginning to feel as though she could finally go back outside.

After due consideration, her courage came through. Shizuye gathered up her belongings and stepped outside into the street. The sun was starting to set, but luckily for Shizuye, she was not afraid of the dark. In fact, she was actually much less afraid of it than most other people in her class.

As Shizuye navigated her way through the streets, she looked in all directions constantly. She wanted to be ready for anything that might come her way. She had been bold enough to go outside, but her fear of dying was no less potent than that of anyone else who had something to live for.

Shizuye held her weapon close to her side as she walked. She had been given a revolver, specifically a Smith & Wesson M500. She had spent most of her time reading her firearm's manual several times over so that she could know everything about it. She was fascinated by how many features a simple gun could have.

The S&W M500 had originated in the United States. It was relatively young in comparison to the other revolvers in the game, as it had been designed in 2002. It had been in production ever since 2003.

The feed system to the M500 was a five-round cylinder. The barrels were approximately 10.5 inches long and the chamber used a double-action. Most of the weapon's body was made of metal. The metal had been polished to the extent that the gun appeared to be made of silver. The only non-metallic part of the gun was the handle, which was made of reinforced rubber.

The ammunition came in the form of .500 S&W Magnum cartridges, which were .50 caliber bullets. The revolver could only hold five at a time, but Shizuye was alright with that. She had practiced loading her gun several times to get the hang of its feel. While she did not like to think about it, she knew that sooner or later she would have to point her weapon at someone and fire.

According to her manual, the S&W M500 could fire a round at several hundred meters in any direction. It could also fire a bullet at an average of 602 meters per second. That implied that it could travel an entire mile in under three seconds! But Shizuye did not want to test that hypothesis unless she had good reason to fire her weapon.

One thing that gave her a modicum of hope was a certain line she read near the beginning of the manual. According to a certain passage, the S&W M500 had been certified by many as the most powerful production revolver manufactured in modern times. While it was a humble-looking weapon, Shizuye was content that she at least had a strong weapon. Or she hoped she did. She would find out eventually.

That was another interesting feature about Shizuye. While she suffered from numerous phobias, she was not afraid of blood and gore. She was capable of being disgusted by them, but she was not afraid of discussing, witnessing, or even resorting to them. If violence turned out to be the only available solution out of the Program, then she was willing to accept it.

For the moment , she tried to put these thoughts out of her mind and focus on finding her friends. She was part of a four-girl clique. The others were Chiaki Iwasaki (Girl #4), Yuriye Sakaguchi (Girl #9), and Tomoe Yamakawa (Girl #21). These three were the only ones she was willing to encounter while in the Program.

Something was gnawing at the back of her mind. It told her that she should not be too quick to trust anyone, even her own friends. She tried to shut out this voice, but she could not deny that it was making a valid point.

All the same, Shizuye rebuked herself for having such thoughts. She scoffed lightly and muttered under her breath "Shame on you, Shizuye. Remember, these are Chiaki, Tomoe, and Yuriye you're talking about here. They've been watching your back since the day they befriended you! Try having a little faith, you silly girl!"

Inwardly, she was still trying to convince herself that what she said was true. Fortunately for her, none of her friends had been mentioned on the announcements. She took this as a sign that they were safe and that she had a reasonable chance of finding them. She knew it was a slim chance at best, but it was still a chance all the same.

Shizuye had a keen grasp of how deadly the repercussions of the Program could be. One single mistake could cost a person his or her life. Many victims do not even see their deaths coming in time. But Shizuye was not ready to face her death yet; not by a longshot. Despite this, she thought about how over a third of her class was already gone. She knew that anyone else could be the next one to die, including herself.

It was at times like this that Shizuye wished she could be more like her friends. She wanted to be as optimistic as Tomoe, as valiant as Chiaki, and as elegant as Yuriye. But she held none of these qualities; she was a pessimistic, fainthearted, and somewhat maladroit lone wolf. If one of the four had to be regarded as an outsider, she felt it would definitely be her. Sometimes she wondered why her friends even tolerated her for what she was. But she did not have the nerve to ask them this question straight out. However, her friends knew that she often felt inferior to them. Whenever she mentioned it to them, they would reassure her that they did not think lowly of her, and that they loved her for the person she was. They told her that they would always accept her, regardless of her flaws.

Shizuye considered herself lucky to have such kind and compassionate friends. Such close acquaintances were hard for anyone to come by these days.

That was why Shizuye was determined to find them. She would try her absolute hardest to locate and protect them. She did not care about the challenges she would encounter along the way. She would be willing to face a stampede of pigs, inhale dozens of air fresheners, and spend the entire game in solitary if it meant she could ultimately reunite with her friends. That was how dedicated she was to them; even her chronic phobias could not hinder her.

…

Shuuichi Kai had been resting in the theater in B-6 for over two hours. He was still in the performance hall, sitting in the exact same seat as before. He had not gotten out of this chair once. In fact, he had barely even moved in all that time.

He had spent quite a bit of time thinking about everything he had been through that day.

Certain recent events had been plaguing his mind for a long while. The majority of them had to do with one particular subject. He was more familiar with this subject than anything else: firearms.

As far as he knew, no one else in the class was as well-acquainted with guns as he was. He had years of experience, extensive background knowledge, and the keenest pair of eyes a person could wish for. To Shuuichi, using a firearm was more than just a hobby; it was an art form. He had developed a deep admiration for guns over the years. He had taken it extremely seriously ever since the day his uncle had first brought him to his shooting range. In the time since then, he had perfected his aim to the degree that he virtually never missed.

When the Program first began, he felt as though his skills with guns would be the best advantage anyone could possibly have whilst in the game. But even all his expertise could not have prepared him for what he had been through that day.

In the time since he left the school, his sanguine views on firearms had begun to change. They had changed gradually and overtime.

One thing that heavily disturbed him was the memory he had of Tsukasa getting shot. The bullet had gone straight through the back of his head. It had practically blown off his upper lip on the way out. Shuuichi had never seen a man get killed with a gun in real life. His uncle had always taken steps to make certain that no one who visited his shooting range– whether they be staff or customer – ever got in an accident. Needless to say, Shuuichi had been rather shocked by Tsukasa's fate. It had happened so quickly, so abruptly, and without any warning.

Something that upset Shuuichi even more was what happened immediately after. In order to save himself and the other three boys he was with at the time, he had to use his skills to eliminate the person who shot Tsukasa. Of course, Kenzou had been the one who encouraged him to do it. But Shuuichi had made the choice to go through with the idea. He had killed several birds and other animals when he and his uncle went on hunting trips, but he had never killed a human being before that day. Part of the reason he was willing to go through with it was because he did not know the identity of the sniper. But after listening to the noon announcements, he had managed to determine that it was Goro he had killed. That made him feel even worse; he and Goro had been friends.

Daisuke's operation at the hospital was another unsettling matter to Shuuichi. While he was there, he came face-to-face with just how much pain a single bullet could really cause. The victim of the gunshot was not the only one who suffered; those close to him had to go through their share of grief and tension as well. He could tell this by how anxious Naozumi had been during the surgery. Daisuke's injury had also cost Shuuichi two pints of his blood and – at least temporarily – his coordination as well.

Another thing Shuuichi could not shake off his mind was the "proposal" Kenzou had given him just outside City Hall. It had taken Shuuichi a long time to come to terms with Kenzou's deceitful motivations. Truthfully, he was not that surprised; he could never take anyone's persona for granted in the Program. However, he was still uncomfortable with the fact that Kenzou actually wanted to participate in the Program and that he wanted Shuuichi to be his partner. Even though Kenzou emphasized that he planned to pull his own weight with his medical training, his offer made Shuuichi feel as though Kenzou wanted to exploit his skills with guns and use him as an asset.

While he thought about it, he wondered how Kenzou was holding out. He had not seen him since that encounter with the hooded figure in F-6. Kenzou had not been listed on the evening announcements, so he was most likely alive. Beyond that, there was no way Shuuichi could know anything else about his well-being. The odds that they would run into each other again were not very promising. While Kenzou may have been a little bit of a two-timer, he was still the closest one Shuuichi had to an ally in the Program. That made Shuuichi a little concerned for his well-being.

He was beginning to feel a little guilty for having left Kenzou behind. He was not the type of person to abandon someone who depended on him for aid. He would have gone through with the arrangement to sneak around the block and shoot down the hooded figure. But then there was the matter of the other person that had appeared around the northwestern corner of City Hall. Everything had just happened so fast. In the end, Shuuichi had been forced to abandon Kenzou anyway. He almost felt as though he had left Kenzou for dead.

Shuuichi had already been through a number of ordeals that day. In every single one of them, a gun was primarily responsible. Before this day, he had treasured guns. Ever since elementary school, he had spent much of his free time outside of school learning about the different models and varieties of them.

The Program, however, had changed his perspective on guns entirely. For the first time ever, he had witnessed the real horrors they could cause. He had witnessed a classmate get killed by a bullet to a head, seen another classmate take a bullet to the chest cavity, and saw that same bullet be extracted less than two hours afterwards. Two people had tried to shoot him, and he had been forced to kill one of them. He would have most likely killed the other one had certain complications not arisen.

Shuuichi thought all these events over and over again in his mind. For the present, he could bring himself to go on using guns while he was in the Program. But he did not know about afterwards. In fact, if he actually managed to survive, he was not sure he would ever want to fire another gun again for as long as he lived.

Now that he thought about it, he wondered what type of future he could possibly have that heavily involved firearms. He actually had very limited options. For a long time, Shuuichi had thought about joining the Japanese army after he graduated from school. But now he knew that the Program's entire security force was composed of the Japanese army. With this in mind, he quickly checked being a soldier off his list of potential job opportunities. He had no intention of affiliating himself with the army if it meant he might end up having to stand idly by and watch innocent children being forced to fight each other to the death. It was bad enough that his own class was in the Program; he could not live with himself if it meant he would be responsible for the pain and suffering of future classes.

So the army was no longer something he was willing to consider. He could have been a hunter or a firearm manufacturer, but hunting was not really a paying job and firearm manufacturing required lengthy evaluation and licensing before someone could become deeply involved in it. The best Shuuichi could hope for was a part-time job – full-time if he was lucky – at his uncle's shooting range. Either way, his salary would not be particularly large, but it would at least be a start. It would be a way for him to attempt to get his life back in order if he managed to live past the Program.

However, there were more pressing matters that needed his attention.

"I keep dwelling in the past and planning for the future," Shuuichi thought aloud, smirking, "Maybe I should just stay focused on the present for now."

For the present, Shuuichi just wanted to regain his full composure and then work out a new strategy. He was still a little dizzy, but he was feeling much better than he had felt a few hours ago. Rather than stressing himself and his mind further, Shuuichi merely sat in peaceful silence. He leaned his head backwards, closed his eyes, and let his mind rest.

Then, abruptly and out of nowhere, a loud thumping sound emanated from the front of the performance hall. That snapped Shuuichi back to awareness. He sat up and focused his gaze on the stage. The curtains had been drawn ever since he first arrived, but he thought he saw the stage left one quiver.

Shuuichi looked around the room. There were no open windows, so he could rule out a sudden gust of wind as the cause of the agitation. That being the case, the next most likely alternative quickly entered his mind: somebody may have been backstage.

Shuuichi had not regained his full coordination, but he was not going to take any more chances. He would be putting himself in serious risk if he chose to wait around for someone to jump out at him. He decided to investigate the stage.

Shuuichi slowly rose to his feet, picked up his supply pack and backpack, slung them over his shoulders, and stepped out into the aisle. He stumbled for a moment, but managed to stay on his feet. He drew his handgun out of his belt and held it at his side with the barrel pointing up. He walked down the center aisle, his eyes fixed on the stage.

He approached the stage one step at a time, barely making a sound as he walked. Slow and steady was always the way to handle a target. His uncle had taught him that on their very first hunting trip.

In a way, Shuuichi felt as if he was in another hunting expedition. Of course, there were several differences between the expeditions he went on with his uncle and the current scenario. They had always hunted in the forest or the mountains. They had never done it in a city, even an abandoned one. They had hunted in the daytime, as it was illegal to hunt at night where they lived. It was so dark in the performance hall that Shuuichi could only just see where he was going. Aside from that, it was getting dark outside. Most of all, his target – if there was one – was not an animal; it was another human being. If worse came to worst, it would be a target that could fight back, or a target that would make Shuuichi question whether he was actually the prey instead of the predator.

Soon Shuuichi reached the small staircase at the base of the stage and ascended it cautiously. As he advanced, he raised his gun into the air and pointed it at the divide where the curtains crossed each other. That was where he planned to enter, as he could not see any other gaps he could pass through.

As soon as he was on the stage, he paused and turned his left ear towards the curtains. He listened closely and tried to discern if there was any audible sound coming from the other side. A few moments later, he got his answer. He thought he heard something being dragged across the stage. It sounded heavy and metallic. A gust of wind could definitely not cause that; someone was definitely back there.

That was all the confirmation Shuuichi needed. He stepped up to the divide in the curtains, grabbed onto the end of the right one with his left hand, and heaved it to the side. Immediately after this, he flipped off the safety of his gun and aimed it at the center stage.

For about two seconds, he saw a silhouette about three meters in front of him. The figure was standing next to a cylindrical-shaped object perched on a movable cart.

A split-second later, a white light burst forth from the cylindrical-shaped object. Shuuichi shouted in surprise and pain. The light was so bright and powerful that Shuuichi felt as though he had been blinded. He looked away and covered his face with his left arm to block out the light.

A few seconds later, he could hear giggling. It must have been from the person who activated the light. Something about that laugh sounded hauntingly familiar. What disturbed Shuuichi the most was that it sounded as though the giggling was getting louder and closer.

Shuuichi moved his arm a bit and opened his eye. He could barely see clearly, but he could tell that the figure was directly in front of him. The figure was now standing directly between the light and Shuuichi. The person was in a sailor suit; it must have been a female classmate.

"You like my spotlight therapy, Shuuichi?" she remarked humorously, "It'll give you a nice tan."

Shuuichi did not respond. His first inclination would have been to point his gun and shoot, but the lightheadedness from earlier had returned from that spontaneous flash of light. Shuuichi tried to focus on the person in front of him. She was a little shorter than him, meaning that the light was still partially shining in his eyes from over her head. That made it difficult to concentrate.

She had shoulder-length hair, but that was little help in finding out her identity. Half the girls in Class 3-A had shoulder-length hair.

A moment later, he noticed she was holding something in her right hand. It actually looked like a gun, but it was unlike any firearm he had seen before. The bottom of the magazine was much larger than the handle, the barrel was as large as the chamber, and the body was curved downwards like a cylinder. What stood out the most was that there was a thin, pointy tip at the head of the gun.

A moment later, the girl raised her gun into the air and pointed it directly at Shuuichi's face. Before he had time to react, she pulled the trigger. Shuuichi expected to hear a banging sound, but what he heard was more along the lines of a "zip."

Immediately after he heard the sound, Shuuichi felt an intense rush of pain in his left cheek. It felt as though he had been stabbed in the face. He shouted in agony and stumbled backwards. Then he tripped and tumbled down the stairs.

He landed hard on his back, but that was nothing compared to the sensation he felt in his cheek. He took his free hand and held it against the side of his face. Something was sticking out of his cheek. It was very thin, made of metal, and seemed to be about four inches long. But only three inches were protruding outwards. The other inch had dug through the skin and tissue on his cheek.

When Shuuichi moved his tongue to the side, it came in contact with the front of the metallic rod. It was very sharp and pointed at the end. Shuuichi taste both blood and metal in equally intense amounts.

He looked back up at the stage and saw that his attacker had approached the top of the short staircase. He took a closer look at her weapon, and realized it was not a firearm at all. It was a nail gun! He had been shot in the fact with a nail gun!

"Now I'll show you my acupuncturist skills," the girl leered as she held up her nail gun and gripped it tightly.

Shuuichi tried to focus in effort to determine who she was. The light from the spotlight was still on her back, so he could not make out her face. However, he noticed something peculiar. There was a small half-circle on either side of her face, just along her eyes. That was when he realized the half-circles must have belonged to spectacles or glasses.

There were only two people in Class 3-A who wore glasses for reasons other than reading. One of them was Michio Ueno (Boy #4). Of course, Michio was male; so it could not have been him. That narrowed the list of suspects from two to one. Shuuichi immediately knew who he was dealing with.

It was the class clown, Hina Tashima (Girl #13). He should have known it was her in the first place. The sarcastic remarks she had just made could have given her away on their own. She was known for always cracking jokes about everything, even when the situation called for absolute seriousness. Shuuichi inwardly cursed himself for not recognizing her sooner.

Shuuichi focused on Hina's face a little more closely, and he managed to make out her eyes. As soon as he could, he felt a shiver run down his spine. Hina's pupils were dilated widely, and she held a huge smile across her countenance. It was not very different from the smile she normally bore, but the eyes made all the difference. Her eyes gave off a look of sadism mixed with insanity.

Shuuichi felt himself overcome with anger. He raised his handgun and pointed it directly at Hina's head. Before he could pull the trigger, she ducked back behind the curtains.

Shuuichi rose to his feet and shouted "You don't want to mess with me, Hina! I could kill you with one squeeze of this trigger."

Hina stated nonchalantly from backstage "I'd like to see you put that theory to the test."

Shuuichi grunted in frustration and began his way back up the steps to the stage. He kept his left hand against his cheek and used his right hand to aim his gun at the curtains. He focused on the opening and yelled "I once killed a bear three times your size with a pistol about half as big as this weapon. I did that all on my own while the bear was charging me. I could easily shoot you with a military-approved handgun."

"I don't feel particularly threatened by a guy who always has to focus on history and speculation," Hina commented calmly from behind the curtains, "I heard you say that you should stop reflecting on the past and the future and you should think more about the present. I'm inclined to agree with that idea. Otherwise all you'll have is the past and you probably won't even have a future to worry about. Case in point, here's a special delivery!"

Shuuichi then heard the same sound from earlier of a heavy metallic object being dragged across the ground. Just then, the cart with the spotlight was speedily rolled out between the curtains. Shuuichi quickly turned around and looked away before he was blinded again. He kept his back turned for a while. When he finally opened his eyes, Hina was directly behind him. She jumped onto his back and forced him onto the ground.

The two of them had a very hefty struggle with each other. Hina was trying to wrestle the handgun away from Shuuichi, but he would not give up his weapon so easily. He tried his hardest to push her away, but she was just as determined as him to come out victorious.

At one point, Shuuichi grabbed Hina by the throat and forced her onto her back. He kept her left arm pinned down with the hand he held his gun in. He tightened his grip on her throat and tried to suffocate her. After ten seconds, she seemed to be having extreme difficulty in breathing. When she gasped for air, Shuuichi smirked in satisfaction. Unlike Goro, he felt no remorse for what he was doing to Hina.

Just then, Shuuichi felt something lightly tap his chin. When he looked down, his smirk went away. Hina's right hand was directly under his head, pointing the nail gun at his chin. Hina's evil grin returned and she humorously noted "Joke's on you. Now it can stick to you."

Then she pulled the trigger and a nail sank into Shuuichi's chin. He dropped to his side, screeching in anguish. Hina took advantage of the moment to jump onto him again. Once he was pinned down, she pointed the nail gun at Shuuichi's face and squeezed the trigger again. The next nail went into his temple. All Shuuichi could do was moan loudly.

Hina did not stop there. She pulled the trigger again and again. Shuuichi could feel a multitude of nails puncture various places on his head, such as his ear, the bridge of his nose, and just under his eye socket.

Finally, when Shuuichi was too weak to react at all, Hina held the nail gun directly up to his forehead. She stated cruelly "I'm afraid hunting season's over. So is your show. Time to draw the curtains again."

She pulled the trigger one last time. This time, almost the entire nail sank into Shuuichi's skin. All four inches of metal had broken through his skull and sunk into the front of his brain. That was enough to put him down for good.

Shuuichi laid still on the center of the stage. A significant portion of the front half of his head was covered in nails. His eyes were wide open and enflamed. A bit of blood began to drip from the corner of his mouth. This blood had been drawn from the very first nail he had been shot with.

Hina, on the other hand, was handling herself very well. She did not seem to be the least bit phased by the fact that she had just killed one of her classmates. She just straightened her glasses and looked down at him. She was quite amused by his current facial expression.

"What's that look for?" she remarked, cackling insanely, "You don't have to be such a _pinhead_ about this."

She burst into laughter after she said that. She continued to laugh for almost an entire minute before she let up. Then she took out the watch she had been supplied with in the Program.

"Damn, you've almost made me late for dinner," she said drily, "Better get something to eat if I want to stay alive. Can I get you anything?"

Naturally, Shuuichi did not respond. Even if he did not have at least three nails lodged in the space around his mouth, he would not have been able to answer her.

Hina remained smiling and said "No? Suit yourself; more bread and water for me."

Hina left the stage and returned a moment later with her supply pack and backpack. After getting herself settled near the steps, she got out some of her rations. She began dining on them as she sat next to Shuuichi's body. She ate as though she was simply having a meal with a friend. More specifically, a private, distanced friend that had little to talk about.

As Hina ate, she turned to Shuuichi and shook her head in mock-disappointment. "I expected better from you, Shuuichi. I mean, you know all about firearms, yet you were taken down by the one gun that could be found in a classroom. Or, in my case, a supply pack. Maybe you would have done better if you just had a _bigger_ _gun_."

She laughed again at her own joke. Then she continued eating without speaking another word.

**Boy #7 Shuuichi Kai – Dead**

**27 Students Remaining**


	26. Testing The Initial Theory

"Breathe in, breathe out. Inhale, exhale."

Sayeko Watanabe (Girl #22) had been practicing breathing exercises all day long. That was the primary reason she had managed to keep herself together for so long and one of the parts of the plan she had made for her survival.

Like many people in her class, Sayeko had developed a plan to stay alive. She had organized this plan carefully and overtime. While it was an impromptu strategy, it had kept her name out of the announcements so far.

Sayeko's plan involved far more than mere breathing exercises. She had accounted for a variety of factors, such as logistics, resources, stealth, and shelter. She had thought of everything.

Sayeko had the distinction of her name being placed at the very end of the Class 3-A roster. Unfortunately for her, that meant she was the last person in the class to leave the school. When she realized this in the classroom, she initially took it as a sign that fate was not on her side and that she would not be around long enough to hear the first announcement.

However, when she actually stepped outside, she was relieved to discover that the only person there had been the soldier standing guard. If she had really been unlucky, one or more of her classmates may have chosen to linger with the intent to eliminate some competition. That had not been the case; the streets around the school were empty.

After leaving the school, she quickly recalled that Furutani had mentioned that C-5 would become a danger zone within the following ten minutes. Sayeko thought about taking out her map to determine her exact location in C-5. That way would have known which of its borders she was closest to. However, she felt that she was very pressed for time, and she figured that regardless of which direction she decided to take, she would ultimately find her way out of the area. So after a few seconds' deliberation, she headed off to the east.

She ran at a moderate pace to conserve her energy and to maintain her breathing at a steady beat. Once she was clear of C-5, her first priority had been to keep a low profile and to stay out of sight. Naturally, she wanted to avoid any confrontations with her classmates. Of course, she knew from the start that her chances would not be very promising. But all the same, she would try to hold out for as long as possible.

As she walked through the streets, she looked around at the surrounding buildings. They all looked dark and deserted, but she knew better than to judge solely on appearances. The possibility that a player could have set up base in any of the buildings had occurred to her.

At first, Sayeko planned to wait until she found some cover to investigate the contents of her supply pack. However, she was not willing to enter a building unless she was absolutely certain it was safe to enter. After spending ten minutes wandering the streets, she still had not found one that looked promising. Ultimately, she decided to just keep on moving and to take out her map while she walked. She turned her attention to her supply pack, held it up with her left arm, and unzipped it.

The first thing she discovered was her weapon. She had been given a large firearm. It took her quite by surprise, but not to the point where she would have another attack. She knew next to nothing about guns, so she did not know what to make of it. All she could determine at first glance was that it must have been a large weapon, as it actually came in the form of a kit of assorted parts.

She chose to wait until later to assemble her weapon. For the present, she was more concerned with locating some trustworthy accommodations. She pushed the kit aside and found her map lying underneath it, along with her flashlight. She extracted both objects and activated the latter of them. She held her map in front of her face and shined her flashlight down on it. Based on her map and the surrounding environment, she managed to determine that she was partway through C-6. According to the map, most of the foundations around her were either office buildings or public facilities. She wanted somewhere more secluded and formidable to take shelter.

She discovered that there was a pawn shop in D-6. That was only about a mile south of her current position. Back in Fujisawa, her cousin owned a pawn shop. She often went to visit him there after school. She had been there so many times that she knew it almost as well as he did.

There were three rooms total in the shop. Some would claim there were only two, seeing as how all that separated the front room from the back room was a caged wall with a slot in the center. The front room was typically cleared out and the store's cheaper objects were kept on display along the walls. The back room was much more cluttered. It was where more valuable items were kept, where the shop owner could keep a close eye on them. The last room was further back and it served as a storage area. This room was where deliveries were normally dropped off or picked up.

Of the three rooms in her cousin's pawn shop, the only one with windows was the front room, and all those windows had bars. There was a garage door in the storage room, but it could only be opened with a specific code at a console. There were no doors in the back room, and the only way into the front room was the main entrance. Sayeko's cousin had taught her how to pick the lock to the front door in case she ever happened to get locked out of the shop while he was not there. He informed her that all pawn shops used the same type of mechanism on their locks and it was hypothetically possible to forcibly open the front entrance to any of the shops the same way.

After considering her options, Sayeko decided to put that theory to the test. If the pawn shop in the city was anything like her cousin's, she may have found an ideal haven. From what Sayeko had seen, it would be impossible for anyone to break into a pawn shop unless they knew how to bypass the locks to the front door. None of her classmates had ever been to her cousin's pawn shop, so she felt it was safe to say that she was the only one who possessed that ability.

After another two hours of traversing through the streets, she arrived at the pawn shop. Externally, it looked very much like her cousin's shop. She hoped the same feature applied to the interior. She approached the front door and shined her flashlight inside. Much to her relief, the place looked empty.

Sayeko then reached into her pockets and pulled out a bobby pin, two paperclips, and a small pair of tweezers. Her cousin told her that these were the only things she would need to form an ideal makeshift lockpick. Remembering his instructions, she wired them together in a certain way. Once she was satisfied with the results, she kneeled in front of the door and went to work.

About a minute later, she heard a click, meaning that the bolt had been undone. Sayeko smiled, stood up straight, and pulled the door open. Then she reached in through the secondary cage door and unfastened the latch. She pulled the cage door open and slipped inside. Once she was in, she shut both the cage door and the front door behind her.

Sayeko quickly went to work searching the building. Like her cousin's pawn shop, this one also had three main rooms. Her overview was brief but thorough. She found that the storage room, the back room, and the front room were still full of merchandise. She assumed that the owner did not have time to clear it out before the city was evacuated. However, while the shop was full of commodities, it was completely devoid of her classmates. That was enough for her.

As a bonus, there was also a bathroom right next to the front room. Her cousin's shop did not have a lavatory, but since this one did, Sayeko would not have to leave the shop for anything. She felt she had found the perfect hideaway.

Sayeko had been in the pawn shop all that day. She was content to remain there throughout the duration of the game as long as D-6 did not go danger zone.

It had been a peaceful day for her so far, as she had been in a relatively quiet atmosphere. Outside of the loudspeaker announcements, she had not heard very much noise. A few times she did hear some gunshots in the distance, and she also heard the explosion from the gas station. But she did not worry herself with those sounds. It had been rather quiet.

She had decided to assemble her weapon shortly after the morning announcements. She took both the kit and the manual out of her supply pack. Within the next hour, she had her firearm fully constructed.

Sayeko's weapon was a Maschinenpistole 40, or MP 40 for short. This was a type of submachine gun that had originated in Nazi Germany during World War II. The Nazis had introduced the weapon to their Japanese allies during the war, and the government had been using them since that day. In modern day, around a million of this model and its variants were on sale in the gun market.

Sayeko had plenty of time on her hands, so like most people in the Program who were "packing heat," she decided to familiarize herself with her weapon. It weighed about four kilograms, and it was approximately 24.8 inches long. There was a stock attachment that could be adjusted to support the user's shoulder. At its maximum extension, the stock could make the gun an extra eight inches longer.

The action was a straight blowback with an open bolt and the standard ammunition was 9x19mm Parabellum cartridges. According to the manual, the rate of fire was around 500 rounds per minute, and it had an effective range between 70 and 100 meters. There was also a fixed hooded front blade sight along the barrel of the gun.

The feed system utilized a 32-round detachable box magazine. As a bonus, the model Sayeko received could hold two boxes at once. If one of them ran out of bullets, she would be able to switch to the other box without having to reload.

She had been given five magazines and three containers full of cartridges. She figured that she may as well load up all the magazines. Putting in the bullets was a long and tedious process, but Sayeko had nothing else to do at the time.

After a while, he had all her magazines fully stocked. Then she took two of them and inserted them into the feed system of her submachine gun. Finally, she fastened the bolt into place. Her weapon was now locked and loaded.

Not much else had happened ever since she assembled her weapon. She was actually handling herself much better than most of her classmates. She was one of the few people in the Program who had managed to eat three times that day. She had eaten breakfast after the morning announcement, lunch after the noon announcement, and dinner after the evening announcement. Bread and water was not particularly satisfying, but she knew it was much better than nothing.

Sayeko did not let the seemingly calm aura of her surroundings fool her, however. She continuously reminded herself that danger could be looming just outside the shop. She wanted to be prepared in case any such trouble was to come her way. In order to do that, she kept two things close to her at all times. One of them was her submachine gun; the other was her inhaler. If she was to have another asthma attack, she knew she would need to deal with it as soon as possible.

Back home, Sayeko's asthma was little more than a nuisance to her. But in the Program, she worried that such a feat would seriously affect her chances of surviving. The entire class knew that Sayeko had asthma, and she had a grim idea that some of them would try to take advantage of this if they came across her. She felt that these same people would view her as weak and easy to defeat. After all, who would ever feel threatened or intimidated by someone who could lose their breath from mere shock?

All the same, if anyone did try to harm her, she would not hesitate to fight back. Even though she had a respiratory disability, she was still more than capable of defending herself. All she needed to do was find a way to keep her asthma at bay.

That was why she had been practicing her breathing exercises all day long. She had been using these exercises for years, and they had helped her get all the way through her compulsory schooling. She took that as another sign that fate was on her side. She believed it meant that she was supposed to live past junior high and even past the Program. Sayeko took nothing on faith, but she still held onto the hope that she could somehow survive the game.

As long as she had her firearm in one hand and her inhaler in the other, she believed she had a chance.

…

Not far from the pawn shop, a group of four had recently finished vacating from the bar in D-7. Osamu Sano (Boy #9) and the three remaining members of his gang had spent the last couple hours hauling their equipment from the bar and moving it to the carpentry shop in C-7.

Toshirou Oosaki (Boy #5) had been the one to suggest moving everything to the carpentry shop. He had seen the building earlier that morning, and from what he could tell, it was large enough so that the group could find somewhere to hide their equipment in it. For that reason and the fact that the carpentry shop was less than a mile away from the bar, the others agreed to this proposal.

The four of them employed a very cautious approach in transferring their supplies. They only had one trolley, and they were careful not to overload it. After all, the trolley would be no good to them if it was so heavy that it could not even be rolled across the ground.

Once they had a sizable load gathered on the trolley, the four of them departed from the bar. As a precaution, Osamu had assigned everyone a certain role. In a sense, he wanted the group to function as a convoy.

Toshirou was in charge of navigating the trolley through the streets. He was very gentle with it; after all, he was moving precious cargo. He was careful to push it with a consistent amount of force and to keep it level with the street at all times.

Reika Fujihara (Girl #19) and Gakuto Yamashita (Boy #21) were both armed with guns, so Osamu had them assume defensive positions around the trolley. They were responsible for monitoring the surroundings and looking out for any sudden signs trouble. In the event of third-party interference, they had to be ready to react before the hostiles did. Gakuto scouted at the front of the group and signaled the others when it was safe to advance. At the same time, Reika covered the rear of the group and made certain that they were not being followed.

Osamu had his map out and studied it as he walked. He made himself useful by guiding his friends through the most direct route to the carpentry shop. He kept one eye on his map and the other eye on the sidelines. While he did trust Reika and Gakuto with staying on watch, he felt a bit of a need to double-check on his own. After all, one could never be too sure about one's safety in the Program.

They reached the carpentry shop about a half-hour after leaving the bar. There, they swiftly but delicately unloaded all the contents of the trolley. They were not finished just yet; they had only dropped off a percentage of all the supplies they planned to save.

They went back to the bar immediately afterwards. The used the same amount of caution, but they moved much faster, as Toshirou did not need to be as careful with the trolley when it was empty. They arrived back at the bar in under twenty minutes.

It would have taken them a minimum of seven trips to transport all of their materials from their first hideout. However, they were running on very strict time constraints; they could only afford to make three trips. While Gakuto and Toshirou did not like to waste potential resources, they managed to narrow their inventory down to less than half of its original size. This included – but was not limited to – all the equipment they needed for developing the nitroglycerin, some canisters of methane gas, and their first batch of nitroglycerin.

Right before they began the third trip, Reika noticed the jar of Fluoroantimonic Acid on the counter. Originally, that jar had been given to Kaminari at the start of the game. Reika decided to bring it along in her supply pack; she had a feeling the acid could actually be useful somehow if the people who ran the Program classified it as a weapon.

Reika was not the only one who ended up carrying a hazardous chemical on the third trip. On this round, Toshirou was in charge of handling the nitroglycerin. He had the best balance and attentiveness out of the four of them; that made him the best qualified for the task. Osamu took over pushing the trolley this time around.

The group was out of D-7 long before it went danger zone. Unlike the first two trips, the third trip was one-way. The four of them were more than a little relieved when they were finally finished. However, their work was far from done.

When they arrived at the carpentry shop for the third time, Osamu gave his friends a moment to rest. But he did not want them to get too comfortable. While they had arranged to keep all their equipment in the carpentry shop, Osamu did not plan to make it their own hideout just yet. So before his friends were properly settled, he turned to Gakuto and Toshirou and inquired "Didn't you say you encountered Teru just outside this building?"

"Yeah, that's correct," Toshirou confirmed, placing the nitroglycerin on a flat stable surface, "By the way, on that subject, could we get back to discussing his plan?"

"That is what I had in mind," stated Osamu, "Based off of what you've told me so far, Teru must have been genuinely confident that his plan would have worked."

"He certainly gave us that impression," remarked Gakuto.

"In that case, I think we should consider picking up where Teru left off," Osamu thought aloud, "I mean, while Teru and I didn't hang out that often, I did know him enough to conclude one thing about him."

"What might that be, Osamu?" queried Reika.

"He did not go through with anything unless he was certain it would have a reasonable chance of success," Osamu answered straightforwardly, "Case in point, he would not have bothered with this plan in the first place if he felt that it's only purpose would be a needlessly complex way to eat up time."

"That's quite true," Toshirou agreed, leaning against the wall. At this moment, he was the only one of them that was standing up. The others were sitting down in different parts of the room. He looked down at the others and told them "If we're talking strategies, I say we head on over to D-5 and see where Teru left off. If we're lucky, he may have left us plenty to work with."

"I'm all for that option," Gakuto spoke out, "Escape still sounds like a good deal to me."

"It sounds good to all of us," said Osamu, "But let's not get ahead of ourselves. I think we should go over the details of Teru's plan one last time before we do anything else."

"If you insist, Osamu," Toshirou complied, albeit somewhat reluctantly, "We've already been over this at least twice already."

"I know, I just want to make certain we're being very clear," stated Osamu.

Over the next several minutes, Gakuto and Toshirou recounted all the details of Teru's plan. They had managed to remember everything Teru had told them from their meeting that morning. In a way, it was hard to believe it had taken place a full twelve hours earlier.

Once they were finished, Osamu looked up at the ceiling and rubbed his chin. He found Teru's plan to be very deep and detailed. Evidently, Teru must have put most of his thought into it. However, there was one thing about it that profoundly concerned Osamu.

"Let's go back to the part after he planned to implement his disruption code," he remarked, "You're telling me that he wanted to use the loudspeaker network to summon everyone together?"

"That was the general idea," Gakuto commented, "I'll admit I was a little skeptical about that part. We may want to consider revising it a little."

"I agree," Reika stated, "After all that's gone down so far, we have to question who out there is still worthy of our trust."

"I've been wondering that all day," Osamu commented, "But that's not the most unsettling aspect. Even if we actually did find enough people to ambush the school, we would still be left with one huge problem."

"What might that be?" enquired Gakuto.

"We'd be stuck here," answered Osamu, "Even with Furutani and the soldiers at the school gone, the soldiers stationed at the borders of the city would still be here. As long as they maintain their posts, we're not going anywhere."

The others realized he was in fact correct. One thing both they and Teru had failed to account for was what to do after the school was neutralized. Until they worked that out, escape from the Program could be little more than a fantasy to them.

"He's right," Reika agreed, "If the soldiers are as observant as I think they are, it would be virtually impossible for us to sneak past them. At least while we're on their level."

"Then our best hope would be to find another way out of the city," Gakuto reasoned, "That would mean finding a way either over or under the fences at the city limits."

"I don't think going under it would be a wise idea," stated Osamu, "Not unless you guys would be willing to dig a tunnel under the city."

"No, it would take days for us just to make a dent in the concrete," Gakuto elucidated, "Besides, we'd need dozens of shovels at our disposal to even attempt such a thing."

"Then that gives us only one option," stated Osamu, "We'll have to go over the fence."

"How would you propose we do that?" asked Reika, "We can't climb it; it's electrified barbed wire. Aside from that, we'd be shot down before we even had a chance to get close."

"Maybe not," Toshirou countered. He reached down for his supply pack, picked it up, and removed his map. He held it up for the others to see and asked them "You see where my left thumb is?"

They focused their attention a little more closely and nodded. Toshirou went on with "This area is part of A-7. Earlier on, when I was looking over my map, I noticed that there's a mall in that vicinity. According to the map, it's a four-story mall with roof access. And it just so happens to be built right along the northern border of the city. I mean, literally along the border. When Gakuto and I stopped by the hardware store in J-5 this morning, I got a good look at the southern border fences. They appear to be less than two stories tall. I think it's safe to assume that the northern border fences are built the exact same way. If that's so, the mall just might be our ticket out of here."

"You know, I think Toshirou's on to something," remarked Osamu, "I saw the mall earlier this morning before Reika found me. Who knows? If we climb to the right altitude, we just might be able to spot a weak point in the fence. Hell, we might even be able to practically leap over it."

"That's a lot of 'mights,' Osamu," Gakuto pointed out, "What good would jumping the fence be if there's no guarantee we'd survive the fall to the other end? In fact, we can't exactly label it as our way out of here."

"That's a good point, Gakuto," Reika concurred, "The mall sounds promising, but we can't afford to walk into a dead end."

"She's right," Osamu stated, "We're relying too much on speculation. If we seriously want to consider the mall as an escape route, there's only one surefire way to confirm it as such. We'll have to go ahead and investigate it on our own."

"That's actually not a bad idea," Toshirou commented, "So, what do you have in mind? Maybe after we check out the police station and check up on Teru's plan, we'll swing by the hospital afterwards?"

"No, that'll take up too much time," Osamu responded, "It'll take less time we managed to accomplish both objectives at the same time."

"How do you propose we do that?" queried Gakuto.

"Think about it, Gakuto," Osamu said rhetorically, "We have two goals, but there are four of us. Who's to say we all have to concentrate on the same objective at the same time?"

The others realized what their boss was insinuating. Toshirou and Gakuto were a little uncomfortable with it.

"You want us to split up?" Gakuto said uneasily.

"Yes, we'll divide up into pairs," Osamu stated, nodding his head, "Two of us will check up on Teru's work while the other two will go to the mall to examine the northern border of the city."

"Do you really think now is the best time for us to separate?" remarked Toshirou, "Kazumitsu and Kaminari left the group to make a simple run by the gas station. Look where it landed them."

"Kaminari and Kazumitsu must have been caught off their guard," Osamu theorized, "We'll try harder not to make that same mistake. Besides, Toshirou, you and Gakuto were all over the city this morning, and you made it back to the bar safely. That's also how you found out about Teru's plan in the first place."

"That is true," Gakuto agreed, "I will admit, there's no denying we'd have to take a fair share of risks to survive this game. But I still feel that we'd be weaker in pairs instead of a group."

"Don't be too sure about that, Gakuto," Reika countered, "We shouldn't throw in the towel before we even have a chance to wipe the sweat off our brows. Think about it: if we break off into pairs, we'd be able to move faster. We could certainly get more done if we were in two places at once. Plus, we can always establish a rendezvous point to meet up again afterwards. And the sooner we finish these tasks, the sooner we can get out of this hellhole. Those are just a few of the benefits to working in pairs. I can go on, if you'd like."

"No, I'm convinced," Gakuto told her.

"So am I," Toshirou added in. He turned to Osamu and asked him "How would you recommend we do this?"

"Well, you two are still more familiar with Teru's plan than me and Reika are," Osamu thought aloud, "Plus, investigating the police station was your idea in the first place, Toshirou. With that in mind, I want you and Gakuto to go there. Reika and I will head to the mall. If there is a way to breach the city's northern border, we should be able to find it."

"Sounds fair enough to me," stated Gakuto, "But while we're on the subject of considering all the possibilities, there's something I want to address. Let's say for a moment that one of our goals turns out to be a false hope. Say, maybe Teru was not finished rewriting his disruption code or the northern section of the mall is sealed off. What would we do then?"

"Believe me, that did occur to me as well," said Osamu, "But for the present, I don't want to draw any premature conclusions. For now, let's concentrate on getting to the police station and the mall. After we look around, we can meet back here and discuss our findings. That sound like a reasonable arrangement?"

"It does, actually" said Gakuto.

"Just one more thing," Toshirou interjected, "When **do **you want to meet back up here?"

"I hadn't really thought about a specific time," Osamu admitted, "After all, there's no telling how long it would take to accomplish either of our tasks. So for the moment, let's just plan to meet back here at around midnight."

"Okay," stated Gakuto.

"Sounds cool," remarked Reika.

"I'm good with that" Toshirou agreed.

"Alright then," Osamu smirked and got up onto his feet, "Let's get out there and make some trouble for the army!"

He helped Reika off the ground while Toshirou pulled Gakuto onto his feet. They quickly went to work storing all the equipment they had moved from the bar in a large closet in the back of the room. They made certain everything was concealed, especially the flask of nitroglycerin. Once they were finished, the four of them gathered up their backpacks and supply packs and headed out into the city.

They bid each other good luck, and then they went their separate ways. Gakuto and Toshirou headed off to the west while Osamu and Reika travelled to the north.

They stayed on their guard the whole time. While two members of their group were already gone, the remaining four had no intention of falling victim to the same fate.

…

Everyone in the Program has a choice. This choice is either to play the game or to hide away. Some people view these same options as a more general way of choosing between "to kill or to be killed." Some people would disagree with this policy. The most prominent opponents to it are namely the ones who decide to take cover but are still willing to eliminate anyone who crosses their path.

Other people who challenge the legitimacy of this policy argue that there is always a third option available. Most of these people consider suicide to be an alternative way out. They would have more than enough proof and evidence to back up this claim. Ever since the first game in 1947, every single Program had witnessed at least one suicide among the contestants. Several people in Class 3-A had already considered it, but Mamoru Niwa and Yasuko Oomori were the only ones who had gone through with it. Everyone else who was still alive wanted to stay that way.

There are some people who would argue that there is still another alternative option other than taking one's own life. This option is nothing specific; it is simply what some would call "improvising."

By that, there are some people that do not think much of playing the game, hiding it out, or offing themselves. Instead, they like to find other things to do with their time in the Program; often things that they could not typically get away with in an everyday refined society.

So far, there were only two people in Class 3-A who had such plans.

Tamayo Shintani was one of them, as she spent most of the morning hunting for jewels. Petty theft was basically the only goal she had other than surviving. Had her fatal encounter with Riyeko Imamura (Girl #3) not taken place, she would have continued searching the city for precious stones.

While Tamayo did not spend her time very efficiently, her actions were arguably much more civilized than those of the other contestant who had an objective that would be seen as unorthodox in the Program. This particular person had a much more unpleasant and appalling goal in mind.

Akiyo Furukawa (Boy #18) was browsing through the streets of the western apartment complex in I-1. He liked to think of it as "taking a stroll through the park." He got this idea from a classic American film he once saw. The movie was made in the 1930s, and it was basically about the different lifestyles of the American population. They varied from the prolific working-class to the debonair upper-class. But what they all had in common was that they all intrinsically relied on each other.

This movie was required viewing in Akiyo's sixth grade history class. It was common knowledge that Japan and America had been on good terms with each other before World War II. The purpose of the viewing was – as the teacher had so eloquently put it – to demonstrate how Americans had once been a refined and structured people, as opposed to how disorganized and unkempt they were in modern days.

Regardless of what the point may have been, Akiyo found he actually enjoyed the movie. The parts of it that interested him the most were the two main stars, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. They made quite an interesting pair.

At this time, he was trying to take after Fred Astaire. Akiyo admired him for how sophisticated and popular he was. He felt his "stroll" would have been a lot more realistic if he had a top hat and cane. Alas, he had no top hat, and the closest thing he had to a cane was what he had received as his weapon. He had been given a length of chain. It was around two meters long and it was composed of over a hundred links. Each link was made of solid iron and about the size of an electrical outlet.

Akiyo held the chain by its center in his right hand and swung the front part of it in circles by his side. When he got it at a steady rhythm, he kept rotating it at that pace. Then he remarked "Looks like I've got the right tempo. Now I just need to find me a partner. Time to find some pink."

Akiyo smirked and continued down the street. While some would consider it admirable to have an interest in something classical, Akiyo's appreciation for cultural elegance was pretty much the extent of how much class he had. He had another interest; one far more extreme and unhealthy. Like the first one, he had developed it through his fascination in classical movies.

He had gotten his interest in cultural elegance from Fred Astaire. His other interest he had gotten from Ginger Rogers. From the moment he first saw her, Akiyo found her to be a quite beautiful woman. In fact, as soon as he got home from school after seeing the movie, he looked her up on the internet. At the time, he was not certain what incited him to do such a thing. All he did know was that he never felt such feelings about a woman before. As it turned out, Akiyo was just beginning to discover hormones at the time.

When he looked up Ginger Rogers on the internet, he read a couple articles around her and Fred Astaire. He found both of them to be fascinating individuals. Then he happened to come across a page entitled "Ginger Rogers Look-Alikes." That piqued his interest, so he selected it.

The link had opened up to a page with a woman who looked just like Ginger Rogers. However, her head was not the only thing that was visible. The rest of her body was, as well. Akiyo expected her to be wearing something from the 1930s. But she was wearing absolutely nothing.

That marked Akiyo's first encounter with pornography. It disgusted him at first, but after the initial shock, he explored the website a little further. He spent a long while examining that sight. All the while, he developed a strange attraction to its contents. This attraction became much stronger overtime. When he found links to neighboring sites, he was hoping for more of the same stuff.

But he was almost caught by his parents. Something innately told him that they would not be pleased if they knew about it, so he got off the computer before they came into his room.

However, the following day, he visited one of the neighboring sites. When he was fed up with it, he moved on to another, and another. He went to these sites every day for a couple weeks. After a certain amount of time, his amazement had grown beyond the point of reparation.

So you see, Akiyo's biggest interest was the female body. Some would say that this "interest" was practically an obsession. He was fixated on the opposite gender. More specifically, he was fixated on the sexual appeal he found in women. It only got worse overtime. Eventually, it got to the point where looking at pictures was not enough for him. He wanted to see a woman's body in real life.

He thought about turning to some of his female classmates for help. But his initial approaches were far from subtle, and they did not end well. In fact, they ended poorly and awkwardly, and left a damaging impact on most people's impression of him.

Akiyo quickly gained a reputation as a pervert in Class 3-A at Keio-Shonan Fujisawa Junior High. Even the most flirtatious members of the class like Namiko Abe and Rumi Hakugi avoided him.

When his efforts at school failed, Akiyo tried his luck on the street. But every time he tried to approach a prostitute, he was turned away. Most did not even bother to check his identity card; they could tell easily enough that he was underage. The most they did was flirt with him. They never accepted his money. Their reasoning was that they all believed in "honor among thieves."

Once he got fed up of this excuse. He had demanded from the prostitute that had just turned him down "Is there something wrong with me? I got the cash, and I'm willing to pay more? Who cares if I'm not twenty-one? Does it really make such a difference?"

This woman was in her early twenties, and she appeared to be relatively healthy, unlike most of her coworkers. She answered Akiyo's question while trying to be as patient with him as possible. She told him "Honey, you're a kid. You're just going through a phase. It's called puberty. I know, it can be a crazy aspect of your life. But you can't let your urges bring you down. I did, and look where it led me."

As annoyed as Akiyo was with her refusal, he admitted that she was correct. He never went after another prostitute again after this event. But his obsession with the opposite sex was still as strong as ever.

The best he could hope for was an occasional visit to his cousin's strip club. He would have had to wait another six years before he could legally hire a prostitute. In most other countries, he would only have to wait three years. That was still too long for him; he deeply wanted to find a way to appease his desires before that.

When he woke up in the classroom that morning, he was just as scared as everyone else. He was not just afraid of dying; he was more afraid of dying a virgin. He was convinced that that was how he would go down. However, his view on that topic changed when Ms. Kawano was rolled into the room.

When Furutani mentioned that he and his men had raped Ms. Kawano less than an hour before the students woke up, Akiyo began getting an idea.

Back home, Akiyo had never considered satisfying his sexual urges by raping a woman. To him, such a thing seemed crude and barbaric. However, the chief reason he had never tried it was because it would have gotten him in trouble with the law. Even if he was underage, he would have at least ended up in a juvenile detention facility.

As Furutani had said, there were no rules in the Program outside of "kill or be killed." Whatever laws they obeyed back home did not apply in the game. Akiyo realized that a person would virtually have freedom to do anything they wanted in the Program. It occurred to Akiyo that if murder was permitted and encouraged in the Program, rape must have been allowed as well.

He almost found himself jealous of Furutani's position. Back at school, Akiyo often had fantasies involving Ms. Kawano. He assumed that she knew of his feelings for her, it would have explained why he was always seated at the back of the classroom. In actuality, the real reason he was seated in the very back was simply because his class number placed him there. All the same, he could tell that Ms. Kawano seemed to be relieved by this coincidence.

While Akiyo despised Furutani as much as any of his classmates, he felt he had to admire his taste in women. He was kind of disappointed Furutani had to kill her; he would have liked to have had a turn with her.

"Oh, well," he had muttered under his breath, "I still got twenty-two promising prospects around me."

Since the start of the game, Akiyo saw all of his classmates as a potential target. He had established different views of his male and female classmates. If he came across a male classmate, he would try to avoid his notice. If it came down to it, he would have been willing to kill him.

If he came across a female classmate, he would still try to avoid her notice. But he would also try following her. If he was stealthy enough, he would be able to get close enough so that he could jump her. Then he could have his way with her.

Akiyo had been in the western apartment complex for most of the day. So far, he had not encountered a single person since leaving the school. He stopped a couple times to have some of his rations, but other than that, he kept moving through the city all day long.

"I suppose finding a woman in this place can be as hard as finding one's own soul mate," Akiyo muttered under his breath, "Maybe I should consider going out into the city. After all, there are better hiding spots out there. My chances of scoring might improve."

Akiyo seriously considered leaving the western apartment complex and heading out into the city. But before he went anywhere, something caught his attention. In the distance, he thought he could see something move. He halted in his tracks and stopped swinging his chain. It was dark outside; he had to squint his eyes to properly concentrate.

He realized that the moving object was one of his classmates. After looking a little more closely, he saw that the figure was in a sailor suit. He smirked wickedly and said to himself "Well, well, well. I'll be damned. Guess it's true what they say. Patience will always be rewarded."

Akiyo began walking directly towards this female classmate. Like him, she was on the move. However, it was getting darker very quickly. Unless she turned around and focused very closely, she would not notice him creeping up on her.

As he followed his classmate, Akiyo told himself quietly "I'm just Fred Astaire, taking a stroll through the park. And I may have just found Ginger Rogers."

…

Yuuga Suzuki (Boy #11) was known by his classmates for three things. Two of them have already been discussed in detail. Those would be his ability to determine a person's mood simply by studying his or her facial expressions and how he had total control over his own emotions.

The third quality was not as unique as the others, but he was distinguished for it all the same. Yuuga was known to be quite protective of those closest to him. He was always putting others before himself.

Several other people in the class could be described as such. Some examples would be Osamu Sano, Chiaki Iwasaki, Naozumi Matsuno, and Chieko Suda. However, few of them were as devoted to their companions as Yuuga was to his own.

This quality was what had primarily dictated Yuuga's actions throughout the Program. Everything he had accomplished so far was something he had done out of the interests of both himself and his friends.

When the game first began, Yuuga's primary objective had been to locate his best friend. Despite how he had not done much to achieve this goal, it still had precedence over anything else on his mind. But as long as he came across someone who needed his help, he was compelled to stop and assist them.

He remembered when he first ran into Kiyomi Takayama that morning. He remembered when she admitted to him that she had killed Ichiko Murakami. Initially, he was a little skeptical about what to do with her until she wholeheartedly told him that Ichiko's death had been an accident. Most other members of the class would have probably called her a liar, abandoned her on the spot, or killed her themselves. But not Yuuga; thanks to his ability to read faces, he could tell she was speaking the truth. Plus, Kiyomi had been his friend for a long time. She did not strike him as the type to kill someone in cold blood. That was what convinced him that he could trust her. For a similar reason, he felt the need to help her. After all, she was alone and wounded. He figured that the least he could do for her would help her find some cover.

When the two of them encountered Blaine Rhodes and Tatsuo Inoue at City Hall, Yuuga was faced with another critical decision. Tatsuo was another person Yuuga considered to be a good friend, but he was a little uncertain about Blaine. While there was no tension between the two of them, Yuuga had a grim theory that trouble would quickly come Blaine's way. After all, given how killing Blaine meant instant freedom from the Program, it was reasonable to assume that some members of the class were after him exclusively. Yuuga had a feeling that anyone who teamed up with Blaine would be in just as much danger.

However, that did not mean he would give up on Blaine without at least giving him a chance. So he led Kiyomi inside City Hall and up to the mayor's office where Blaine was waiting.

Yuuga initially planned to just stay there for a few minutes at most, or until the others were settled. He ended up staying there for the better part of twelve hours. But those dozen hours had not been wasted. It had given him time to develop a better strategy for locating Yuriye Sakaguchi. As a bonus, he was able to become better acquainted with Blaine. So much so that he entrusted him with his own patented methods of self-control. In exchange, Blaine had taught Yuuga how to better handle his firearm.

He only wished Blaine had given him those tips before he faced the most important decision he had made that day. That, of course, had been his decision to step into a gunfight. He had not done that witlessly, but it had not thought too hard on it beforehand either. He had still done it with everyone's best interests in mind. Blaine's, Tatsuo's, Kiyomi's, Yuriye's, and everyone else's, including his own. He had fired at that hooded figure because he viewed him as a potential threat that needed to be eliminated. By taking that figure out, he would be unable to harm anyone else.

Now that he knew how to properly operate his Beretta, he felt a little more confident about the situation. If he ended up in another gunfight, he would have a better chance of winning it than he did before. He would also have a better chance of defending Yuriye whenever he found her.

The only reason he had not spent very much time searching for Yuriye that day was because it had been light outside. Both he and Yuriye were smart enough to stay indoors during those hours. However, it was quickly getting dark all around; it was well after seven o'clock. Yuuga reasoned out that he could finally conduct a proper search for his best friend, now that the nighttime gave him some cover. After all, the way he saw it, Yuriye was most likely out on the streets these very minute, looking for him and the rest of her friends.

Yuuga still had one last errand to run for his friends. As soon as he reached the hotel, made certain it was secure, and returned to City Hall to escort Blaine, Kiyomi, and Tatsuo there, he would set out to find Yuriye. The only problem was that he was not certain when exactly that would be.

Yuuga had told Blaine and the others that he would be back at City Hall around forty or fifty minutes after he left. Over an hour and a-half had passed since then. He had not even reached the hotel yet. An unforeseen complication had come up.

Yuuga had not gotten lost or anything of the sort, but about eighty minutes earlier, when he first crossed over into E-6, Yuuga thought he heard an echo. It sounded as though the point of origin was somewhere behind him. So he turned around and looked all over the area for about thirty seconds. From what he could tell, no one was there. So he turned around and continued walking.

Another minute later, there came another echo. This one was slightly louder than the first one. Yuuga stopped and turned around again. He thought about calling out something like "Who's there?" But he knew he would risk drawing unnecessary attention to himself by doing that. When he still could not see anyone, he pressed back on.

The third time this happened, the echo came again. This time, Yuuga simply ignored it and just kept walking. However, as he travelled further away, the echo started to get louder and louder. When it got loud enough to the point where Yuuga could no longer bring himself to disregard it, he listened to it closely. That was when he realized that the echoing sounds strangely resembled the noise made by feet marching across the ground.

It was then that Yuuga began to notice a peculiar pattern to the sounds. Whenever he stopped walking, the echoes went away. If he quickened his pace, the echoes sped up as well. If he reduced his pace, the echoes became softer, too.

It was not long before Yuuga began to suspect that someone was following him. He had a feeling that whoever it was, they must not have wanted to be discovered. Why else would they have gone to all the trouble of synchronizing their footfalls with his?

Ever since then, Yuuga had switched his focus from getting to the hotel to throwing his stalker off track. Thus far, he had had no luck. Several times, he tried cutting through an alleyway and sprinting to the other side. A couple times, he thought it had worked. But less than a minute afterwards, he could hear the same footfalls echo around the vicinity.

One time he decided to hide in a random building. He looked around for a back exit, but it turned out the only way out of the building was the way he came in. So he stayed in the front room for about fifteen minutes, keeping his eyes and his Beretta focused on the door. When he finally stepped back outside, the area appeared to be deserted. But shortly after he began moving down the streets, the sounds returned.

After the first hour, Yuuga began wondering why the person did not just move in on him. After all, he was certain by this point that his stalker must have known that he was aware of their presence. They had lost the element of surprise long ago. So what was keeping them from advancing on him?

After about an hour and forty minutes, Yuuga was getting very tired of playing cat and mouse. He had a schedule to keep, he wanted to fulfill an obligation he had made, and the chase was making him feel profoundly uncomfortable. He seriously wanted it to end. Based on his stalker's persistence and apparent desire to remain invisible, such a thing was much easier said than done.

But Yuuga could be just as determined as the person who was pursuing him. He was even willing to resort to some drastic measures to get rid of them.

Yuuga still had his map out in his left hand. He had managed to keep track of his exact position ever since he had left City Hall. He noticed that he was currently in E-5. He was only five blocks north of F-5. He recalled that the area had become forbidden less than an hour earlier.

This gave him an idea. A wicked smirk came across his normally stoic face. He said to himself "Let's see just how they determined they are to keep this thing up."

Yuuga began making his way to the south. He could still hear the footfalls just as clearly as before. After travelling two blocks, the echoes had not changed in the slightest. However, by the time he crossed the third block, the echoes were easing down a bit. By the time he got to the fourth block, he was certain that they were getting softer. Evidently, his stalker knew where he was headed. But they still did not break off.

Yuuga slowed down his pace as he approached the fifth block. According to the map, this one was partly in E-5 and partly in F-5. As he walked down the block, he noticed there was an alleyway that ran through the center of it. According to the map, the alley was literally on the border of the two zones.

Yuuga was feeling a little ambitious himself at this time. He looked over his shoulder once, and then he turned back to the alley. He cautiously walked over to it, retaining his smirk. He slipped into the alley, making certain to stay in the upper part of it.

Then he noticed something peculiar. There was a huge sheet of tin lying against the wall. He remembered hearing somewhere that if someone held a sheet of tin by its sides and shook it horizontally, it would sound like thunder. Yuuga figured that if such a sound could be produced simply by shaking the sheet, then maybe striking it would likely produce an even more destructive sound, like a miniature explosion.

"Maybe this'll get rid of them," he said.

Yuuga decided to put this theory to the test. He slunk over to the sheet of tin, raised his handgun high into the air, and struck the bottom of the handle against the center of the sheet. Just as he theorized, it sounded like a small explosion.

A moment later, the sounds of the footfalls returned. But they were not fading as Yuuga had hoped. Instead, they were getting closer. His stalker was coming right towards him!

Yuuga tucked away his map and gripped his Beretta with both hands. He scooted closer to the entrance of the alley and waited. He felt a little anxious, but remained in control of his emotions. Every second, the footsteps got nearer and nearer.

Before long, the sounds were upon him. Yuuga could see a dim shadow closing in on him fast. Based on the shape of the shadow, the person must have been wearing a sailor suit. His stalker was a female classmate. But that was the least of his worries.

As soon as the footsteps were upon him, Yuuga reached out with his left arm, grabbed the person by the shirt collar, pulled her into the alley, forced her against the wall and pointed his gun in her face.

Almost immediately, she threw her hands up into the air and said frantically "Yuuga, don't do it! Please! Don't shoot!"

Yuuga found it peculiar that she knew who he was while he could not even make out her face in the dark. He could, however, tell that she was armed; she was holding an iron spearhead in her right hand. But she was frozen with panic; she was in no position to use it against him.

Unbeknownst to him, she was not alone. He heard the sound of a gun being cocked about a meter away. Yuuga turned to his right and saw another figure in a sailor suit pointing a revolver at him.

"Let her go," she demanded, "Right now!"

"No, don't point your gun!" the other girl pleaded her companion.

"You told me he was trustworthy!" snapped the girl with the revolver.

"He is!" the other girl countered, "How do you suppose **you** would feel after being chased around the city for an hour and a half?"

"If you must know, I'm feeling pretty goddamn tense about it," Yuuga spoke through gritted teeth, "Why have you two been trailing me? Do I have something of interest to you or something?"

"No, I was just hoping you could help me find Yuriye and the others," the girl with the iron spearhead insisted desperately.

That caught Yuuga's attention. Someone else in the Program had the same goal as him? What were the odds? He could not imagine who else would possibly have such an aim. Unless, of course, that person was…

"Chiaki?" he asked quietly, easing his grip on the first girl's collar, "Is that you?"

The girl with the spearhead slowly nodded and said "Yeah, it's me. We were actually hoping to have a calm discussion. Do you think we could manage that?"

Yuuga could tell from her facial expressions that she was telling the truth. He still felt he needed to think about this request for a moment. When he considered the current circumstances and how the scenario had turned out, he figured a conversation was not really too much to ask for. Before he did anything else, he gestured towards the other girl and stated "I suppose we could try. But I want her to ease down first."

The first girl turned to the other and beseeched her "Kotoyo, put the gun down. Please."

The other girl hesitated a bit at first, but ultimately, she nodded her head and lowered her revolver. In response, Yuuga lowered his handgun and let the girl with the spearhead lower her arms as well.

Yuuga was quite amazed by this sudden turn of events. All this time, he thought he was being stalked by an unhinged psychopath. Instead, he had just spent the past ninety minutes being followed around the central precincts of the city by Chiaki Iwasaki (Girl #4) and Kotoyo Fukumoto (Girl #18).

…

Sayeko Watanabe was still taking refuge in the pawn shop in D-6. At this time, she was sitting near the front of the store, gazing outside through the glass of the front entrance. She had her submachine gun propped against her shoulder. She had barely let her weapon out of her sight at all that day. She had not used it or practiced handling it once; she had not even adjusted the stock to her exact measurements yet. But as long as at least one of her classmates was out in the city, she was determined to keep her firearm close by.

She had spent the last few minutes watching the sun descend in the west. While the front entrance to the pawn shop faced the south, Sayeko managed to find a decent view by sitting at a particular angle away from the door. The sight of the sun going down actually made her feel a little content. She did not prefer night over day; she simply took this as another sign of good fortune on her part.

When she left the classroom that morning, she had muttered under her breath "I always knew nothing good would ever come of being the last person in the roll. I'll bet someone's waiting outside at this very moment. I'll probably be out of this thing before sunrise!"

She abruptly stopped talking to prevent herself from getting another asthma attack. However, that did not stop her from believing that she would be dead soon. She thought she would be lucky if she made it to dawn.

By the time the day reached dusk, she felt as if those suspicions had been unjustified. Now the sunset had come along, and Sayeko was starting to grow some faith in her chances for survival. That seriously meant something; Sayeko was very selective about what subjects she put her faith in.

In the eighth grade, her fellow classmate Jakobe Tanaka once had a conversation with her about the importance of faith. He told her that faith was a powerful concept, and how such a thing was not to be abused or misguided. While Jakobe put all his faith in his beliefs regarding Buddhism, he explained to Sayeko that faith could pertain to more than just one's religion.

Sayeko found this discussion with Jakobe to be rather remarkable. If anything, she would have called it "enlightening." She could recall ever part of it, except for the beginning. She was not certain how that conversation had begun, or which of them had spoken first. The two of them had merely been partnered up for an in-class assignment for literature class. They managed to finish the assignment early, so they had a lot of spare time on their hands.

Both Sayeko and Jakobe were very antisocial. Neither of them had very many friends in Class 3-A. However, they did consider each other to be a friend. They did not socialize or converse much outside of class, but they still enjoyed each other's company.

Sayeko thought back to earlier that morning. She recalled the moment when Chieko Suda had first suggested that the class may have been in the Program. The shock of this idea had given Sayeko an asthma attack. She remembered that Jakobe had come to her aid and retrieved her inhaler from her backpack. He was the only one who had ever done her that favor. Certainly, Hitoshi Ohara had guided her back to her seat when she first had difficulty in breathing, but one would except that of Hitoshi; he was always doing selfless things for people.

This took place only minutes before Furutani and the soldiers arrived to confirm Chieko's theory.

Sayeko was left somewhat dismayed when she learned Jakobe had been killed. She was not even certain how he had died; Furutani had been somewhat vague in his description of Jakobe's fate. Then again, he had not been very specific in any of the victims' fates so far.

While she was saddened by the news, Sayeko tried her hardest not to let her grief take over her. If she got too emotional, she might become distraught. If she became distraught, she would probably start to panic. If she panicked, she would risk having another asthma attack.

It was at times like this that Sayeko despised being the only asthmatic person in her class. Then again, she hated being asthmatic altogether. She had been forced to live with this medical condition ever since the day she was born. It was not exactly a minor case, either; it was a severe infirmity. All she'd have to do was get excited or startled, and that would be enough for her to have an attack.

Unfortunately for Sayeko, she was very easily excited or startled. Because of this, she could not risk going anywhere without her inhaler. She had to remain observant of the environment around her and be prepared for anything unexpected. She also went out of her way to avoid going anyplace with an extremely high level of energy. She had never attended a sports game, a competitive race, or anything else where it was easy to become overly-enthusiastic.

In fact, Sayeko's asthma was actually the principal reason why she was so withdrawn and distant. Most of the people who knew Sayeko just assumed she had insecurity issues. Only a few of her classmates were aware that her real problems were health-oriented.

Sayeko was glad she had her breathing exercises to help her remain tranquil and levelheaded. But she had a grim notion that they would not be enough to get her through the Program. After all, she knew full well what happened to people there. Normal people would enter the game. These people were healthy, both physically and mentally. But as time slipped away, so did the contestants' well-being. No one could ever be prepared to confront the real horrors of the Program. All that fear and paranoia could spark a wave of trauma in anyone. Such a thing could pose an even bigger threat to a person than the game's other contestants. The very last thing Sayeko needed was trauma.

Before long, she became willing to resort to extreme measures to remain calm. Inhaling and exhaling were just not sufficient enough for her. She wanted to acquire some alternate form of relief as well. She thought about looking around the pawn shop for something that might help her. After careful consideration, she decided to go ahead and do just that. She got out her flashlight, flicked it on, and began searching the shop. She made certain to keep her submachine gun in her other arm as she conducted her investigation.

The only problem with this idea was that Sayeko was not certain what to look for or if anything there could actually be useful. What she really would have liked to find was a book on stress management. But she decided to just search the shop thoroughly with both her eyes focused.

The front room only displayed objects like instruments, ornaments, and trinkets, and most of the merchandise in the storage room was tightly sealed up in crates. She did not have much luck in the back room, either. She found a lot of jewelry and other valuables that had been exchanged for a couple handfuls of cash. Nothing looked the least bit promising to Sayeko.

Then something caught her eye. The cash registrar was placed about two inches from the wall that separated the front room from the back room. When Sayeko shined her flashlight in the machine's direction, she thought she saw the light reflect off something. She looked a little more closely and saw what appeared to be a tall and thin object placed between the wall and the cash registrar. Sayeko walked over to the registrar, reached into the small gap with her flashlight hand, and pulled out a wooden box.

"Why would the proprietor keep this box hidden?" Sayeko wondered aloud, "For that matter, why would he keep it so close by?"

Sayeko examined the box in interest. Its dimensions were about six inches by twelve inches by two inches. It was finely constructed out of oak, and the hinges were made of polished gold. However, what really caught Sayeko's attention was a strange scent. She knew it was not the wood she smelled; the odor seemed to be emanating from inside the container. It was bitter, but a little soothing as well. In fact, just getting a whiff of the aroma made Sayeko calm down a tiny amount.

"Maybe whatever's inside this box can help me," she hypothesized.

Sayeko set her submachine gun up against the wall and transferred the box to her right hand. Then she set it down on the counter and shined her flashlight down on it. While keeping a close eye on it, she reached out with her right hand, took ahold of the lid, and gradually opened it up. She came face-to-face with a rather unexpected sight.

Inside the box were several packages of cigarettes. They seemed to be organized in some particular fashion, but Sayeko was not entirely certain which fashion. Most of them had different brands or names. At first, Sayeko was inclined to shut the box and back away from it. After all, she had been repeatedly told by both her family and her teachers that cigarettes could be hazardous to one's health. In the case of a person with asthma, they could cause even more damage. Sayeko also knew from personal experience that smoke and strange smells did not agree with her. She had always kept her distance from incense, scented candles, and anything of a similar nature.

Right before she closed the box, she noticed something odd. One of the cigarette packs looked vaguely familiar, like she had seen it somewhere before. Sayeko thought back hard, and remembered she had once seen an ad for this particular brand of cigarettes. But that happened when she was nine years old. It had been six years since she had even heard someone talk about this brand.

This realization caught her interest. She took time to study a few of the other packs. While Sayeko was no expert on cigarettes, she had seen enough of them in plenty of convenience stores and gas stations throughout her life to know which brands were still in supply. However, she had never seen most of the packs that were in the box. Those she had seen had been out of commission for a long time. It quickly occurred to her that the packs in the box were all discontinued varieties.

Sayeko arrived at the conclusion that the person who ran the pawn shop must have been a fan of old-fashioned cigarettes. Either that or someone sold them to him at a very hefty price. Those were the only plausible explanations she could think of as to why the box had been stashed away.

All but one of the packs was wrapped in cellophane. The pack in the center was more of a plaster-based case. It said "Camel Rare" in large letters on the top.

Sayeko knew a few things about this brand. It had not been on sale for many years. However, in its day, it had been one of the most popular brands on the market. The news of its retirement had not been well-received by the United States public. The Japanese black market did not take too kindly to their cessation either. Nowadays, most avid smokers were willing to pay a pretty price to get their hands on just one of those cigarettes.

From what Sayeko had heard, some people viewed these cigarettes as a treasure. These people claimed that Camel Rare made all other brands pale in comparison. Sayeko was not certain why that was. Maybe it had something to do with the type of tobacco used, or the way the joint was rolled and sealed. It did really matter to her; all that did matter was that she may have found a way to relax.

Sayeko was fully aware of the dangers of smoking. They could cause any number of medical conditions, including various cancers. As an asthmatic, she knew that she would be even more vulnerable. She would risk weakening her lungs even further.

However, at this time, she was willing to believe that these repercussions only ensued if someone became an addict. She felt there was nothing wrong in taking one single drag and then throwing the cigarette out immediately afterwards. Besides, if anything went wrong, she had her inhaler on hand.

After careful consideration, Sayeko slowly opened the Camel Rare case. Inside were twelve cigarette lined up side-by-side. There was also a lighter resting at the front of it. Sayeko tentatively extracted one of the cigarettes and the lighter with her right hand. She held the cigarette up to her nose and inhaled slowly. It was a potent smell, but she did not feel an asthma attack coming on. She took that as another sign that it was safe to continue.

Sayeko put the cigarette in her mouth and turned her attention to the lighter. She rotated the spark wheel with her index finger and pressed down on the stone. At first, nothing happened; Sayeko tried over and over again to get some results. She moved the spark wheel and the stone a little faster every time. Finally, after about six tries, a flame sprang out of the nozzle. It was a tiny flame, so Sayeko spun the adjustment wheel a little bit to make it larger.

Once she was satisfied, she took a deep breath and slowly brought the flame up to the tip of the cigarette in her mouth. She held it there for a few moments, and then breathed out deeply. The front of the cigarette started flashing red, meaning that the tobacco had been lit. Once she saw this, Sayeko extinguished the flame and set the lighter down on the counter.

She was not entirely certain how to proceed next. She had seen dozens of people use cigarettes in public before, but she was unaware if there was some sort of special technique to smoking.

In the end, she decided to just go ahead and suck in deeply. She did it slowly and without using too much force. By the time she finished, she could feel the essence of the cigarette inside her mouth. It was a little nauseating at first, but it was amazingly relaxing at the same time. Sayeko felt secure, carefree, and even a little giddy.

After ten seconds, she took the cigarette out of her mouth and calmly puffed out the smoke. It still smelled quite foul, but she could put up with that. Sayeko scoffed and said to herself "To hell with the health risks. If I had known how soothing these things could be, I would have tried them a long time ago."

A minute later, the feeling of giddiness was starting to wear off. Sayeko decided to take another drag. She held the cigarette back up to her lips and sucked in deeply. She wanted d to see if she could get more out of a drag, so she sucked a little faster and stronger than before.

That was a huge mistake. By the time she finished inhaling, she could feel the smoke go all the way to the back of her mouth. Shortly after, she began to feel a burning sensation on the inside of her lungs. Sayeko's eyes widened in shock and she quickly pulled the cigarette out of her mouth. She tried exhaling as much smoke as possible, but the damage had already been done.

Sayeko quickly began coughing. That turned into a violent and uncomfortable hacking. It made Sayeko feel as though she was going to regurgitate her last meal. She struggled to regain her breath, but she could not feel any oxygen entering her lungs.

She stepped out of the back room and staggered towards the front door. So far, Sayeko had not set foot outside the pawn shop since she first arrived in it. But she desperately needed some fresh air. Nothing else mattered to her at that time. When she reached the front entrance, she pulled the cage door aside and flung the front glass door open. She took one step outside and rapidly breathed in and out. After some time had passed, she could feel some oxygen getting into her lungs, but the burning sensation was still there.

Just before Sayeko went back inside, she gazed down irately at the cigarette in her hand. She now regretted using it as a way to stay calm. She wanted nothing more to do with smoking. So she flung the cigarette into the street. Then she went back inside the shop, closing the doors behind her.

The shop carried the lingering scent of burning tobacco. Right then, it smelled more sour than bittersweet to her. The remainder of the smoke was making her feel ill. It only made it more difficult for her to breathe. She thrust her hand into her pocket and removed her inhaler. With trembling hands she brought the nozzle up to her mouth and gave herself half a dozen shots.

Eventually, she managed to catch her breath. However, she felt as though her lungs were on fire. To her, this was an extremely painful and disorienting feeling. She gripped her throat with both her hands and leaned against the wall. The sensation was almost unbearable, and she knew that if it continued, her breathing problems would only get worse. But She would need more than her inhaler to remedy this.

"Water…" she gasped franticly, "I need water…"

Sayeko still had plenty of water in her supply pack, but it was not enough to appease the thirst she felt at that time. She hobbled over to the bathroom, pushed the door open, and went inside. She approached the sink, plugged it up, and turned on the cold water valve. She impatiently waited for the sink to fill up. Once the water level was close to the brim, she dunked her head into the sink.

She stood in this position and swallowed a considerable amount of water. She drank it as though she had been dying of thirst for days. Truth be told, that's exactly how she felt. At that time, all that mattered to her was getting rid of the burning sensation in her lungs. She kept her face and most of her head immersed in the water for a long while. She tasted the water, but shut out everything else from her senses and paid no heed to other sights, smells, or sounds. She did not even hear the bathroom door open.

After drinking for about forty seconds, the burning finally went away. Sayeko felt waves of relief washing over her when it did. She lifted her face about an inch out of the water and took in a deep breath. She still felt a bit of a stinging sensation in the back of her throat, but that did not especially bother her. She was just glad that the burning sensation was gone. After taking a moment to compose herself, she brushed a few wet locks of her hair out of her eyes and muttered "Never again… NEVER again… will I do something that stupid."

Sayeko took in another deep breath to calm herself down. Then she stood up straight and looked into the mirror in front of the sink. She immediately regretted doing it. In the reflection, she saw Eiko Hirakawa (Girl #17) standing behind her with a revolver pointed her head.

"You mean something stupid like letting your guard down?" Eiko commented brazenly as she pulled back the hammer on her gun. Just before she could pull the trigger, Sayeko gasped loudly, dropped to her knees and began hyperventilating.

"What the hell…?" Eiko said in confusion, keeping her eyes on Sayeko, "What are you doing?"

Sayeko did not respond. She was putting all her strength into supporting herself against the sink and on catching her breath. Eiko quickly realized that Sayeko was having another asthma attack. When this occurred to her, she began chuckling in amazement. She stated exasperatedly "You've got to be kidding me!"

She continued laughing and approached Sayeko slowly. She noticed she was struggling to reach into her pocket for something, most likely her inhaler. In response, Eiko struck Sayeko's hand with the back of her gun. Sayeko yelped in surprise and pain, which only made her breathing difficulties even worse. She could only stare forward into the mirror. She was so overcome with fear that she could not even bring herself to turn around and face Eiko directly.

Eiko simply stood by and kept her gun pointed at Sayeko's head. She then held up a very small, cylindrical white object for Sayeko to see. The asthmatic recognized it as the cigarette she had thrown outside.

"What did you think you were doing?" Eiko leered cockily as she dropped the cigarette to the floor and stomped out the red sparks, "Don't you know that cigarettes can kill you?"

She laughed again at this little joke of hers. It then dawned on Sayeko that she had forgotten to extinguish the cigarette after she got rid of it. Anyone who may have been passing by could have smelt it outside the pawn shop. She could not believe she had done something so negligent; she may as well have hung up a sign outside the store that read "I'm in here."

That was the least of her worries at this time, Sayeko only felt herself getting weaker with every passing minute. But every time she tried to reach for her inhaler, Eiko held the revolver closer to her head.

"I can tell you're in pain, Sayeko," Eiko stated, but without a hint of sympathy, "Let me ease your sufferings a little bit."

Eiko then placed her free hand on the back of Sayeko's head and pushed her face forward into the sink. The tap had been on all this time, and the plug had not yet been removed. Not only was the sink still full, but it was close to overflowing.

Sayeko struggled to pull her head out of the basin, but Eiko was much stronger than her. She did not even have a chance to take a deep breath before her head was pushed into the water. Her leftover energy was starting to give out very quickly. Sayeko could practically feel her lungs filling up with water. This was much different from the experience she had just been through a moment ago. In less than two minutes, she had gone from dowsing herself in water to straining herself to get out of it.

Her hands and arms felt totally numb at that time. She could not move them at all, no matter how hard she tried. Slowly, the rest of her body began to go numb as well. Before long, she could not feel her feet, her legs, her torso, or her neck. Then her face and head went numb. When that happened, Sayeko's resistance failed her. She stopped opposing Eiko's efforts to hold her down.

Eiko quickly noticed that Sayeko was not moving any more. However, just to be on the safe side, she continued holding her head down with her free hand. She held her down in the water for over a minute after she ceased her struggling.

After that minute was over, Eiko lifted Sayeko's head out of the sink, stepped around her, and took a close look at her face. It was frozen in an expression that conveyed shock and terror. There was not as much as a twitch from her.

Eiko placed her middle finger against Sayeko's neck, and she could not feel any pulse. She smiled at this discovery and released Sayeko's head. Her body slumped forward and she landed face down on the linoleum floor of the bathroom.

"That wasn't a pretty business," Eiko said to herself as she turned off the faucet, "But at least I didn't have to waste another bullet."

She then took a moment to look herself over in the mirror. She casually straightened out her bangs on either side of her head. Then she tucked her revolver into her skirt, turned towards the door, and went back out into the front room of the pawn shop.

She took a moment to search Sayeko's supply pack. She was a little stunned when she found a manual for a type of submachine gun, along with three boxes of cartridges. One of the boxes was partly empty. Eiko looked around the room and said to herself "Her weapon's got to be around here somewhere."

The front room was empty, except for Sayeko's backpack and supply pack. But when Eiko entered the back room, she found the submachine gun perched against the wall. She smiled wickedly, picked the weapon up, and gripped it firmly in both hands.

"Now **this **is a firearm," she remarked in great satisfaction, "With this beauty, I'll be able to enter the major leagues in this game."

After checking the gun to make certain it was loaded, she armed herself with it and went back out into the store. She collected the ammunition cases and the manual from Sayeko's supply pack and stored them all in her own. Once Eiko was all geared up, she approached the front entrance, pulled open the cage door, pushed open the glass door, and sauntered outside.

"Guess that brings my score to four total," she noted as she examined the submachine gun, "All I had was a revolver then. Who **knows **the damage I can do with a weapon like this? By tomorrow morning, I might be ahead of everyone else by six or seven kills!"

**Girl #22 Sayeko Watanabe – Dead**

**26 Students Remaining**


	27. Appearances

**Note: I'd like to apologize for taking so long to update. I've just been having a lot going on recently. I went on vacation about two weeks ago; didn't have a great deal of time to work on this around then. Plus, the last chapter kind of took it out of me. I'll try my best to at least update every other week, if not every week.**

**This chapter is probably going to be the longest one in this fanfic. Think of it as kind of the turning point in the story where everything is coming into place and setting the scene for the REAL action.**

**I'm glad to know that people are still reading this. I'd also like to thank Rockythetigre and 8bitmatter for the lengthy reviews. I'm pleased to know that both of you are enjoying this fanfic.**

**Rockythetigre, I am grateful that you took the time to examine each character individually. But I noticed you skipped everyone in Osamu's group, as well as the two couples. Was that intentional? Did you intend to analyze them at the end? I may have only read part of your review, actually. I was reading what you wrote about Akiyo, but it ended in mid-sentence. Maybe you passed the ten-thousand character mark and everything after it got cut off. Oh, well; I still enjoyed your review. Some of your favorite characters were some of mine as well, like Shuuichi. Believe me, I didn't want to kill him off so early, but I realized that it would be difficult for a person as attentive and skillful as him to be eliminated. That's why I had him die while he was still partly disoriented. Plus, I already decided on the order of the deaths before I even posted the Student List. Oh, by the way, Genji didn't follow Kotoyo to the supermarket because he didn't KNOW she was going there (You may recall she whispered where she was going into Hitoshi's ear before she left him).**

**8bitmatter, I understand your position on how everyone in the class seems to be a genius in one way or another. That's the general idea; in a later chapter, I'm going to discuss how Keio Shonan-Fujisawa is among the top-ranked high schools in Japan (or at least in the Battle Royale universe of Japan). Think of it as a sort of institution for child prodigies. That's also why Blaine appears to be so "gifted," so to speak. I never intended for anyone to interpret him as "perfect," but I never intended for him to be viewed as someone of "average intelligence" either. After all, scholarly standards are much higher in Japan than they are in America. Anyone who chose to study abroad in Japan would have to be extremely bright, committed, and focused in order to be accepted. More so in the case of someone who got into a high-ranking school. Just wanted to clarify that.**

**Onto the chapter!**

Chiaki Iwasaki and Kotoyo Fukumoto had stayed at the supermarket in H-6 for about four hours after the noon announcement. They had spent that time contemplating a plan and prioritizing their objectives in order of precedence. Naturally, survival was at the top of the list. They made watching out for each other their second main directive. Their third top goal was to move out into the city and locate people they could trust.

Of course, they had to be selective of who they could deem trustworthy. Initially, the first people they considered were their closest friends.

Kotoyo often socialized with people from the school band, as she was a chief member. However, most of these people were in Class 3-B or Class 3-C. While Class 3-A had the highest overall GPA and academic productivity, only five of its students were in band. At this time, Kotoyo was the only one of them that was still alive. The other four were already dead. This fact severely reduced the number of people she was willing to ally herself with.

Fortunately, Chiaki's options were not as limited. There were still plenty of her classmates that she was willing to join up with. For starters, she belonged to a small clique composed of four girls in Class 3-A, including herself. They were a close-knit group, and the second largest one in the class next to Osamu Sano's gang. At least they **were **the second largest back in Fujisawa. After they found out what became of Kazumitsu Hayashi and Kaminari Ishida on the evening announcements, Osamu's gang became tied with Chiaki's clique for the largest group in Class 3-A at four members each.

The other three members of the clique were Yuriye Sakaguchi, Shizuye Chida, and Tomoe Yamakawa. At first glance, one would get the impression that they made quite an unusual group, as each of them had certain interests and facets that seemed to contradict the interests and facets of the others. Yuriye was elegant and forceful, Shizuye was laconic and nervous, and Tomoe was jaunty and dynamic. However, anyone who knew the girls well knew that regardless of their differences, they were close as friends could be.

Kotoyo and Chiaki agreed to explore the city for the latter's three friends first. However, they were not entirely certain how to begin the search, as the girls could have been anywhere. It also occurred to the two of them that there was no indication that the girls had found each other yet either. For all they knew, they may have been hiding in opposite ends of the city. With this in mind, they thought about searching for the others one at a time.

Chiaki decided to search for Yuriye first, reasoning that she would be the easiest of the three to locate. She got an idea of where to begin looking when she remembered Kotoyo had told her that she had seen Yuuga Suzuki near City Hall that morning. Chiaki knew that Yuriye and Yuuga shared an intimate but nonphysical bond. She had a notion that Yuuga would want to find her as much as she did.

Chiaki considered Yuuga to be a friend. Having him as an ally would come with numerous benefits. For one thing, Yuuga was one of the most sensible and composed members of the class. And while Chiaki did not know him especially well, she did know that he and Yuriye were almost inseparable. He would most likely be conducting an extremely thorough search for his best friend. In fact, Chiaki was almost certain that Yuriye would be looking for him before anyone else, including the fellow members of her clique. With that in mind, Chiaki resolved that finding Yuuga would fundamentally be the key to finding Yuriye.

After coming to this realization, Chiaki chose to travel to City Hall first to see if Yuuga was still in the area. Initially, Kotoyo was a little hesitant with this proposal. While she always thought of Yuuga as a levelheaded person, she did not know him very well. After about ten minutes of speculative discussion, Chiaki managed to convince her that searching for Yuuga was a good idea.

Before they departed, Kotoyo brought up another topic she felt needed to be addressed. This was the subject of sharing intelligence.

"Once we find Yuuga and the others, they may want to know about what all we've been through so far," Kotoyo pointed out.

"That's a reasonable assumption," Chiaki concurred.

"How much do you think we should tell them?" inquired Kotoyo

"It's your call, I guess," Chiaki answered after thinking for a bit, "After all, you've been through plenty more than I have. The only thing I know is that Michio may be playing."

"Why's that?" asked Kotoyo.

"He left the school right before me," Chiaki explained, "He was still near the entrance when I got outside. At the time, he was in the midst of pulling a katana out of his supply pack. He was over ten meters away, but I could see him glare at me from across the street. He seemed to be switching his gaze between me and his weapon, as if he was getting an unpleasant idea concerning both of us. However, I bolted in the opposite direction before he could confirm my suspicions."

"Alright, we can mention that," stated Kotoyo, "In the meantime, how much of what I've been through should we make common knowledge?"

"Everything, I suppose," Chiaki answered straightforwardly, "If the rest of Osamu's group are working on developing chemical weapons, I'm certain everyone else would want to know. You don't think they were responsible for that explosion we heard earlier, do you?"

"Maybe, there's no way of knowing just yet," Kotoyo remarked, "Toshirou and Gakuto could have killed me this morning, but they didn't. I don't think they're playing. The others may have mixed reactions to the news of their work, but it's important news all the same."

"True," Chiaki agreed, "What about Teru's plan? Should we bring up that as well?"

"I don't know about that," Kotoyo thought aloud, "While I'm certain everyone would want to know that somebody was working on a plan to get us out of this nightmare, the fact that that 'somebody' is dead would be quite discouraging. Maybe even more discouraging than being totally unaware of the plan. We'll just have to wait and see."

"Very well," commented Chiaki. After a few moments' pause, she stated "There's also the matter of Genji. We should definitely let everybody know that he's playing."

"No, absolutely not," Kotoyo responded firmly, "We should keep quiet about that for now."

"Kotoyo, our Class President has an itinerary that involves killing all of us," Chiaki sharply remarked, "How can you possibly think that keeping quiet about that is a good idea?"

"Because of the fact that he **is **our Class President," Kotoyo countered, "Back in Fujisawa, Genji was someone we all looked up to. He was like a leader and a role model to us. You weren't here when I told Toshirou and Gakuto that he's now armed and dangerous. Had you been here, you would have known how deeply the news must have affected them. They looked devastated, as if a feeling of hopelessness had come over them."

"But those two rarely ever interacted with Genji," Chiaki noted.

"That's my point," stated Kotoyo, "It still left them quite distraught, though. And if the two of them were that unsettled, how do you think people who admired Genji and depended on him would take it?"

Chiaki thought about this theory for a long while. She realized that Kotoyo really was making a very valid point. She stated "I don't think they'd take the news well at all. In fact, if they knew that he was playing, they would probably begin to doubt if anyone in this class could still be trusted. Including us."

"That's my point exactly," stated Kotoyo, "For our classmates' sake, let's mention nothing about Genji for the present. If we're lucky enough, someone else may end up killing him soon."

"He may end up staying around for quite a while," Chiaki theorized, "Our secret may be harder to keep if he makes it to the last dozen or so players. We may actually come across him ourselves before long."

"If he does, we'll deal with the situation," Kotoyo assured her, holding up her revolver, "I'll admit that coming across him again may be inevitable. If that happens, I have no intention of running away from him a second time."

Chiaki smirked and nodded her head in approval. She was impressed by how Kotoyo had been certain to account for everything. She had taken the situation and analyzed as if she was simply acquainting herself with another instrument.

Chiaki never would have known Kotoyo to have had such excellent leadership qualities. Truthfully, Kotoyo would never have suspected such a thing either. However, she was hardly the person she was at the beginning of the game. She had started out as a shambling weakling. Now she was tougher, more hard-edged, and much bolder. She was willing to go to great lengths to protect what she still had, including her allies.

Shortly after they worked out their plans, the two of them departed from their hideout. Chiaki got out her map to determine the distance from City Hall. As it turned out, the building was in F-6, whereas the supermarket was in H-6. They just had to traverse the city northward for two miles.

Along the way, they found Jakobe Tanaka in G-6. He had been stabbed in the chest, almost clear through his heart. The girls stopped a moment to pay their respects, as well as examine him a little more closely. What disturbed them the most was the size of the incision in Jakobe's torso. It was very thin, at least two inches long, and it had gone clean through his back. Basically, it looked like the type of wound left by a katana.

The girls began to suspect that Chiaki's theory concerning Michio was correct.

To be honest, neither of them was especially surprised by this realization. They moved on shortly after they stopped.

About a half-hour later, they arrived at City Hall. That was when the sun was starting to set. They were less than a hundred meters away when they saw one of the huge double doors opening. They were in the midst of crossing the open field in front of the building at the time. They hid behind a couple of bushes to remain undetected.

From their position, they saw someone step out of the front entrance. They were close enough so that they could make out the person's face when he reached the base of the stairs. It was Yuuga Suzuki.

"We chose a fine time to come here," whispered Chiaki, "Almost impeccable timing, I might say."

"You don't suppose he saw us coming, do you?" Kotoyo muttered quietly.

"I don't think so," Chiaki answered, pointing towards City Hall's blank outer front wall with her spearhead, "There aren't any windows on the front of the building. Besides, look where he's heading."

Sure enough, Yuuga was walking along the right side of the building (which was left from the girls' point of view). He had his map out in one hand and his handgun in the other. The girls watched as he cautiously made his way down the street and turned around the corner.

It did not take them long to conclude that Yuuga must have been going elsewhere. Chiaki still wanted to follow him. Kotoyo agreed to do so, but she wanted them to keep their distance for a while. She had several reasons for doing this, such as how it was harder to see in the dark, a player could have been lurking through the streets, and she wanted to know if Yuuga was heading for a specific destination.

That was when they began following Yuuga. Most of the time, they stayed at least fifty meters away from him. Chiaki wanted to get closer, but Kotoyo convinced her to maintain their current approach. She did not want to do anything hasty.

An hour and a-half later, they finally came face-to-face with him near the southern border of E-5. After they all lowered their weapons, there was a short interval of silence. Yuuga needed a moment to get over the initial surprise of running into the two of them.

After about a minute of silence, Kotoyo was the first to speak.

"What were you thinking, getting this close to a danger zone?" she demanded, "Your head could have been blown off if you chose to lean against the other wall!"

"You have someone with unknown intentions follow you around the city for over an hour," Yuuga remarked "Like Chiaki just said, I'm certain you wouldn't feel so calm either."

"That's fair enough," stated Chiaki, rubbing her neck, "But still, you gave us a real fright a moment ago. We thought you chased you directly into your own death."

Yuuga gave a rare smirk and said "I may have been concerned, but I'm not stupid. I was just desperate to end this chase."

"Where were you headed anyway?" enquired Kotoyo.

"I was on my way to a hotel a few blocks north of here," Yuuga straightforwardly explained.

"What's your interest in that building?" said Kotoyo

Yuuga paused for a moment. While he could tell well enough on his own that Chiaki and Kotoyo did not have hostile intentions, he was a little hesitant about telling them about his reasons for being out in the city. He was now a part of two different groups, but he wanted to stay loyal to both without compromising the others' safety.

"I'll tell you later," he answered, "For now, I just want to get there as soon as possible. I was supposed to be there over an hour ago."

"Did you plan on meeting someone?" inquired Chiaki.

"No, I'm actually hoping that nobody's there," Yuuga explained, "I have plans to secure the building and mark it as a potential hideout. I've wasted too much time already wandering around the city, and I would like to get back to my schedule as soon as possible. You two can come with me if you want. Once we make certain the hotel is empty, we can move on to searching for Yuriye and the others."

Kotoyo and Chiaki looked to each other, as if they were having a wordless conversation. About a minute later, they both turned back to Yuuga and nodded their heads.

Yuuga grinned and said, "Excellent. Let's get moving."

The three of them walked out of the alley and began making their way north. Yuuga and Chiaki held their maps out and studied them as they moved through the streets. Kotoyo kept an eye on their surroundings, ready to react at any time in case another player came around.

They were silent for the first few minutes. Then Yuuga turned to Chiaki and told her "You know, you could have just come forward and asked me directly to join you. As long as your plans involve looking for Yuriye, I'd be willing to help."

"Believe me, I wanted to approach you the moment we saw you leave City Hall," Chiaki assured him, "But for the sake of being cautious, Kotoyo insisted on being a little more indirect. You still glad for that, Kotoyo?"

"It may have been a somewhat inefficient use of our time, but I still feel it was worth it," Kotoyo responded, "After all that's happened today, I'm not taking any chances."

"Understandable," Yuuga stated, "But you two weren't exactly what I call 'discreet.' I could hear your shoes echoing against the ground from a quarter-mile away."

"Actually, we were intentionally making those noises," Chiaki explained, "Kotoyo and I weren't side-by-side the entire time we followed you. Whenever you disappeared down a fork, she went one way while I went the other. We ultimately met back up every time, but the risk of getting separated from each other kept growing larger. We didn't want to risk getting lost in such a way. So shortly after we started, Kotoyo wanted to come up with a way for us to communicate with each other without having to shout across the city. So she developed a code through our footfalls."

"Really?" stated Yuuga, raising an eyebrow, "Do you mean like Morse Code?"

"A little like that," Kotoyo responded, "But Morse code is composed of dots and dashes. A single footfall could represent a dot, but we'd have to drag our foot against the ground or tap our foot three times in one second to represent a dash. We didn't have time for that, so I made my own code. One that we could make out through continuously moving."

"Wow, that's really… something," Yuuga stated in admiration.

"At first I thought it would take forever for me to learn that code," Chiaki added in, "But after practicing it for a couple minutes, I got the hang of it. It was quite simple to remember."

"How come you didn't pick up your pace until I entered the alley?" asked Yuuga, "I mean, surely you must have known that I was aware that someone was following me. What would have been the point of trying to keep your distance?"

"We realized pretty quick that you could detect our footfalls," Kotoyo elucidated, "The only reason we didn't change our pace was because we had a feeling you'd become even more suspicious of our actions."

"We even managed to maintain our code in all that time," Chiaki added in.

"It shouldn't seem too hard, really," Kotoyo told him, "It's a lot like writing music. In fact, in a way, it's exactly like it. All you need is structure, melody, tune, and plenty of notes. That's precisely what we utilized in my own patented code."

Chiaki scoffed and said "Only a dexterous musician like you could make an analogy like that."

"Thanks, Chiaki," remarked Kotoyo, "In fact, one of the reasons I enjoy playing instruments is because of all the complexities playing them has to offer. When executed poorly by an amateur, they sound like little more than dissonance. But when a trained individual with familiarity comes along, they produce a harmonious outline of wonder. Every musical instrument has its own set of notes. Think of it as a type of encryption or something of the sort. You need experience to crack the code and create art."

"That's a lovely way of putting it, Kotoyo," said Yuuga.

"I've always seen it that way," Kotoyo told him, "In a way, music is my life."

"With that in mind, let's not put your music in danger," Yuuga commented, "We're almost at the hotel."

The three of them quieted down then. It was not long before they arrived at the main entrance of the hotel. It looked serene enough, but they knew better than to take their safety for granted. There was a revolving door at the front of the building. They expected to find it sealed off, but fortunately for them, it was unlocked.

They entered the building one at a time, brandishing their weapons as they did.

"The lobby appears to be empty," Yuuga thought aloud, "But the offices might be occupied. We should probably go through them before we get too comfortable here."

"Good idea," Kotoyo concurred, "But considering how large this place is, I'm thinking that one of us should stand guard here. It would be easy from someone to sneak in while we're out of the lobby."

"She's right," Chiaki agreed, holding up her spearhead, "My weapon is much quieter than either of yours. If anyone comes in, I can use my spearhead to hold them off without making any noise. You two go ahead and investigate the offices. I'll keep watch."

Kotoyo and Yuuga agreed to go along with this arrangement and headed towards the offices in the back. Chiaki stayed in the lobby and hid behind the front desk, keeping an eye on the main entrance.

Kotoyo and Yuuga were in the offices for over fifteen minutes. For most of that time, they searched the rooms in silence. Then Yuuga remarked "You know, I never would have thought you'd join up with Chiaki and her friends."

"Didn't really have much of a choice at the time," said Kotoyo, "But I brought myself to trust her shortly after we met up. I'll admit I was skeptical to wandering around the city at first, but she convinced me that the risks would be worth it. Plus, she wasn't the only person I encountered today."

"Who else have you come across?" asked Yuuga.

"Ran into Toshirou and Gakuto at the supermarket," Kotoyo replied, "They were looking for soap. There was some mighty bold talk about using it to brew up some nitroglycerin."

Yuuga appeared to be startled by this remark. Kotoyo quickly added in "I don't think either of them was playing, though. They claimed to be working on some additional weapons solely to defend their group. They also told me that they ran into Teru earlier on. He was… working on something."

"'Something?'" stated Teru, "What might that 'something' be?"

Kotoyo hesitated to respond to this question. She remembered what she had gotten Chiaki to agree on earlier. She found herself wanting to change the subject, so she stated "It's not important. We can discuss it later. Maybe we should be getting back to Chiaki."

"No, I want to double-check a few more rooms," Yuuga stated, "We need to make certain this place is totally secure."

Kotoyo sighed and muttered "Is that really necessary? We've been all over these rooms and given them a thorough overview. The only way we could be more thorough would be if we started tearing the rooms apart. Why are you so determined to make certain this place is safe?"

Yuuga paused a moment. It occurred to him that sooner or later, he would have to bring up the matter of his purpose at City Hall. He figured he may as well do it sooner instead of later. He turned to Kotoyo and said "I assume you saw me leaving City Hall?"

"Yes, we did," Kotoyo answered.

"I wasn't alone there," he informed them, "Three more of our classmates are hiding out there."

"Who might they be?" asked Kotoyo.

"For the sake of everyone's well-being, I'd rather not say who they are," Yuuga commented, "I had been hiding out with them in City Hall since the morning announcements. Before I left to find Yuriye, I promised them that I would help them pick out a new hideout."

"Why would you need a new one?" asked Kotoyo, "City Hall seems like an ideal hiding spot to maintain."

"You're right, it was," stated Yuuga, "But we had a problem. Some crazy guy showed up. From the Mayor's office, we could see him attack two more of our classmates. Cornered them right into an alley across the street."

"Oh, my," Kotoyo commented, "What happened?"

"I assume both of them got away safely," Yuuga speculated, "When the other three weren't looking, I slipped outside and fired my gun at the assailant from a safe spot down the street."

"Did you hit him?" queried Kotoyo.

"Hell, no," Yuuga answered, scoffing, "I never handled a gun before. Every single one of my shots missed him. But I must have given the other two time to escape."

"Who was the attacker anyway?" Kotoyo asked in interest.

"I don't know; he was hooded," Yuuga answered, "Besides, I didn't spend much time focusing on his face as much as what was in his arms. He was packing a submachine gun."

Kotoyo froze in her place when she heard him say that. She slowly turned to Yuuga and asked him "A submachine gun?"

"Yeah, and he appeared to know precisely how to handle it," Yuuga recalled, "That's why I'm here. He may decide to go back to City Hall in the near future. If so, I want my other group to be long gone by that time. Think of the hotel as an insurance policy."

Kotoyo slowly nodded her head, but her mind appeared to be elsewhere. Yuuga did not need his ability to read faces to tell that something was troubling her.

"Something wrong, Kotoyo?" Yuuga inquired in concern.

Just before Kotoyo could answer, they heard a scream coming out from the lobby.

"Shit!" muttered Kotoyo, "That's Chiaki!"

Immediately, Yuuga and Kotoyo ran out from the offices with their guns raised in the air. From the other side of the room, they could see Chiaki struggling with a tall figure. He appeared to be sporting two large weapons. One was slung over his shoulders, the other was in his arms. He was wrestling with Chiaki for her spearhead.

Yuuga and Kotoyo got as close as they dared and pointed their guns in the attacker's direction. Then Yuuga shouted "Let her go!"

By then, the figure and Chiaki had stopped struggling. The former of them slowly turned around. To Yuuga and Kotoyo's horror, he had managed to swipe Chiaki's spearhead. He was holding it up to her neck with his left hand. He used his right arm to restrict Chiaki's arms to her sides. He was also holding one of his weapons in his right hand. It was a submachine gun.

That was when Kotoyo looked up at the figure's upper body. He was wearing a sweatshirt, and he was hooded. Initially, she was shocked. It only took a few moments for that shock to turn to anger and malice.

"That him?" she asked Yuuga, keeping her gaze and her revolver directed at the figure.

"That's him," he confirmed, keeping his focus on aiming his handgun at the same target.

Kotoyo momentarily shifted her sights towards Chiaki. She saw Chiaki was staring directly at her. Her eyes pleaded to be rescued. Kotoyo wanted to give her some type of sign that she would be alright, but she had a difficult enough time of convincing herself of that.

It occurred to her that the least she could do was let Chiaki know who was restraining her.

"It's him," she mouthed to Chiaki.

…

The ability to laugh is an innate human characteristic. Physically speaking, a laugh is simply a high-pitched sound produced by one's vocal cords as a result of a contraction of one's diaphragm. Anything can incite a person to laugh, but most people designate it as a reaction to hearing or seeing something funny.

Of course, one's definition of "funny" depends on one's sense of humor. A person's sense of humor is an aspect of his or her personality, and like all aspects of one's personality, a sense of humor is developed over time.

A person's sense of humor is most diverse when he or she is a young child. Children are inclined to be amused mostly by the simplest forms of humor, such as slapstick. This is only natural; at a young age, even the crudest of things can seem funny.

However, as a person gets older, his or her interpretation of the world becomes stronger as well. People become more aware of the world around them, and their personalities mature with their minds and bodies. Through their experiences, they come to decide what makes them happy, what makes them sad, what makes them angry, what makes them afraid, and what makes them laugh.

Depending upon one's upbringing, beliefs, and education, a person's sense of humor can vary greatly; it can sometimes be radically different from those of the person's neighbors, friends, and even family.

Most of the students at Keio Shonan-Fujisawa Junior High School had a decent sense of humor. Some of them rarely laughed, but none of them could really be classified as "no-nonsense." They were near the age where one begins to be amused by things such as witty remarks, ironical situations, and sexual innuendos. In other words, the majority of the students had what could be regarded as a normal sense of humor.

There was one person in the class that had a much different view of comedy. This person happened to be the class clown, Hina Tashima (Girl #13).

Often, the class clown is regarded as someone who likes to pull pranks, laughs at things most of the other classmates would not find comical, and is almost always seen grinning. All of these qualities certainly applied to Hina. However, a typical class clown would also be expected to have a bright and cheerful sense of humor.

Hina could definitely not be classified as such. She actually had a particularly dark and unpleasant sense of humor. A lot of people did find her jokes to be quite amusing, except for the people they were aimed at. The victims of the jokes were frequently left offended, saddened, or embarrassed. There were also times when people did not even want to **know **what all Hina found funny.

She also had a trademark giggle which she used whenever she saw or heard something that especially amused her. Every person in Class 3-A knew her giggle, and many of them felt profusely uncomfortable whenever they heard it. It sounded like the kind of laugh a lunatic would make.

There were certain occasions when Hina's pranks could go from good-natured and entertaining to menacing and even a little dangerous.

One time when she was walking home from school, she had stopped at the corner of a block. This corner marked the intersection of two busy streets, one of which led to the highway. Hina was waiting for the signal to cross the road that led to the highway. For the first ten seconds, she was alone. Then an elderly man stepped up next to her.

"Excuse me… ma'am?" he stated without looking her way.

"Hmmm?" she responded, turning to the elderly man.

"Could you please let me know when the walking signal comes on?" he requested, "I'd appreciate that very much."

At first, Hina was perplexed as to why this man would want her to do such a thing. Then she noticed that the man was wearing glasses with dark lenses in them. They were not sunglasses; they looked like ordinary reading glasses. He was also holding a thin cane with a strap on one end and tapping the ground in front of him with it.

Hina quickly came up with a theory as to what was going on. She waved her hand in front of the man's face a few times. His lack of any sort of reaction confirmed her suspicions. The man was blind.

Right on the spot, Hina began scheming. She said in a higher tone than she normally used "Certainly, sir."

The man smiled and stated "Thank you very much."

Thirty seconds later, the walking signal still had not appeared. Hina turned to the man and told him in that higher tone "It just flashed on."

The man nodded and stepped into the street. Before he made it ten feet, an advancing car loudly honked it its horn in his direction. The man was taken completely by surprise. Before the car had to swerve to avoid the man, Hina stepped into the street and pulled the man back to the curb.

The man looked as if he was on the verge of having a heart attack. He needed to hold himself against a lamppost to compose himself. Hina tried hard not to laugh at the expression on his face.

Once the man regained his breath, Hina asked him in her normal voice "Are you alright?"

"Yes… I believe so…" the elderly man responded, appearing and sounding angry, "Some crazy bitch told me that the road was clear."

"It was probably that woman that just went into that shop over there," Hina claimed, gazing casually in another direction.

"Thank you, sweetheart," said the man, looking in Hina's direction, "You saved my life."

Hina scoffed and said "Don't sweat it, sir."

Soon the actual walking signal came on. Hina waited until the man was out of earshot to begin laughing out loud. She was still snickering by the time she got home.

This was a typical prank of Hina's. On certain days of the year, her pranks could be even more extreme.

April Fool's Day receives recognition in Japan just as much as it does in America. To Hina, April 1st was like a holiday or cherished event. She was one of those people who virtually **live **for that day. One year earlier, she had gotten her first cell phone a few weeks before April Fool's Day. When the day came about, she stayed a little later after school than usual. Then she called her mother and told her in a slow, unstable voice "Mom… I… I'm been attacked… I need… help… please…"

She went on like that for close to a minute before she finally shouted "April Fool's" as loud as possible. It was fortunate she ended the joke at that time. Her mother had been just a few steps shy of a nervous wreck by then. Afterwards, she was just outright upset with her daughter for making such a cruel prank at her expense.

Hina's mother punished her by confiscating her phone and grounding her for two weeks. Hina did not mind; every moment was worth it. She was still laughing about that prank when her mother finally gave her back her phone.

Hina was not sadistic like Maki Nakamura (Girl #15), but she was the next closest thing. She found a wide range of things funny; in a way, it was too wide. She was known to laugh at times when it would be regarded as extremely inappropriate to do so. In fact, there were very few things she took seriously.

When Hina first woke up in the classroom, she first thought that she and the rest of the class were just victims of a huge practical joke. She tried her hardest to convince herself that this was the case, but after she saw Furutani shoot Ms. Kawano in the head, Hina began panicking.

"This isn't happening… it's not happening," she repeatedly muttered under her breath, "This has to be a joke… it can't be for real."

Every time Hina told herself this, she became a little more unstable. As Furutani explained the rules, waves of fear and doubt overcame her. When Furutani called out her name, she felt as if her mind was slipping. The game had not even begun for her yet, and she felt she was already dying.

It also did not help that Kazuki Chikuda had left the school immediately before her. He made her feel very unsteady after what he tried to do to Blaine Rhodes. She half-expected to be ambushed by him the moment she got outside.

Sure enough, Kazuki was standing not fifteen feet from the front entrance when she stepped out into the street. He had a mad grin on his face, and a long knife in his hands. The sight of the weapon shocked Hina at first, but when she got a closer look at it, she noticed that the hilt was as long as the blade. That was when she went from startled to amused, and it was her turn to grin. Even from that distance, she could tell a gag knife from a real one.

She turned her gaze from the knife to Kazuki's face. When he saw she was smiling, his smile started to fade. Hina took a couple steps forward and leered "You have plans to stick your little thing in me, Kazuki?"

After saying that, she began giggling. Then she remarked cockily "Sorry; that came out totally wrong."

Kazuki stepped backward and pointed his knife in her direction, saying edgily "Stay back, Hina. Don't think I'd hesitate to use this."

At that, Hina turned to her own supply pack and unzipped it. When she saw the device lying on top of the contents, her grin widened even more. She pulled out her nail gun, looked back up at Kazuki, and told him "You want to play this game? Very well. I'll gladly be your opponent."

This blunt statement horrified Kazuki. Hina slowly began to approach him; he gradually backed away from her as she did. When Hina looked as though she was going to lunge at him, Kazuki turned around and bolted towards the west, away from the area.

Hina giggled again and mumbled under her breath "You stupid bastard; this thing isn't even loaded yet."

With the exception of the soldier standing guard at the entrance, Hina was alone at that time. It occurred to her that she had an opportunity to pick off some competition. She thought about loading up her nail gun and waiting around to eliminate some of her classmates.

In under a minute, she decided against staying by the school. Despite how well she handled herself with Kazuki, she was not ready to witness any bloodshed just yet, especially when there was a good chance that it would be her own blood being spilt.

So she took off running towards the east. Not twenty seconds after she left the vicinity, Genji Nishihara came outside. Had Hina gone through with her idea of staying behind to kill off some of her classmates, he would have been her first victim.

Hina arrived at the theater shortly before the morning announcements. She was deeply hoping that no one would think to go there. Overtime, paranoia started to sink into her mind. As the casualty list increased, Hina became more distraught and anxious. Her mental health itself was deteriorating as the day went on.

The sanity of several members of the class had been in question long before this time. Examples of such people included Kazuki Chikuda, Goro Shiroi, Riyeko Imamura (Girl #3), and Michio Ueno (Boy #4).

However, no one was as far gone as Hina was. In the time since the game began, she had turned completely insane. When she killed Shuuichi Kai with her nail gun, she had not been the least bit unsettled by his death. She just used her humor to make the scenario bearable.

After she ate some of her rations, she gathered up Shuuichi's supply pack and took his handgun. She was glad she finally had an actual firearm with her. She was certain it would be much more reliable and efficient than her nail gun.

Shortly after familiarizing herself with the weapon, she climbed up to the rafters above the stage in the performance hall. From her position, she looked down at Shuuichi's body. Then she called out "Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to present to you one of the stars of this year's Battle Royale, Shuuichi Kai!"

She paused for effect, and then continued with "But I'm afraid our star is a little… _dead_ at the moment. Looks like we'll need a replacement. Any volunteers?"

Naturally, no one could answer her. But she asked that as if she was speaking to an actual audience. After about twenty seconds of silence, Hina stated "Alright then. In that case, I'll be glad to take over for him. I'll accept the responsibility. I'll hold onto the gun. I'll do the killing."

Hina then walked over to a stairwell that connected the ground floor to the roof. As she ascended, she muttered "The show must go on. Let's see if there are any good prospects close-by."

Once Hina arrived on the roof of the theater, she looked in all directions for any signs of movement. After about three minutes, something caught her eye. A little ways toward the east, she could see two figures travelling north. They seemed to be taking their time advancing from one block to another.

Hina smirked in satisfaction and said to herself "Looks like hunting season's open. I better get busy while the getting's good."

Plenty of things had changed since Hina had arrived in the performance hall. She had lost her sanity, killed one of her classmates, and become a threat to everyone else.

However, she was still convinced that the Program was just one big practical joke. Granted, it would have been the deadliest practical joke ever, but she was certain it was a joke all the same.

Her sense of humor was still as strong and dark as it ever was, as well. If anything, it was worse than before. Just about anything would make Hina laugh at this point, even the misery of others. But this time, she would not be laughing out of amusement alone. She would also be laughing out of lunacy.

…

The situation in the hotel was still as tense as it had been earlier on. The hooded figure was still restraining Chiaki and holding her spearhead up to her throat. Kotoyo and Yuuga both kept their guns aimed at the assailant, ready to pull the triggers at any moment.

The hooded figure was a little irritated by his current predicament. However, when he looked a little closer at who he was facing, a wide grin came across his face. Had Yuuga and Kotoyo been able to see that grin, they would have felt a chill run down their spines.

"Well, well, small fuckin' world, isn't it?" he leered. The person was obviously trying to disguise his voice, even though he was certain Kotoyo knew who he was.

"It certainly is," Yuuga heatedly replied, raising his gun a little, "You do anything to Chiaki, and I'll **end **your world."

"Oh, relax, Yuuga," said the figure, "I have a notion that she's the only reason you haven't fired yet."

"Your notion is correct," Yuuga spat back, "I won't have her death on my conscience. How many people have you killed so far?"

"Four," answered the figure, "Make any sudden movements, and I'll make Chiaki five."

Yuuga angrily gripped his gun and muttered "You do that, and I'll make certain you never get to six."

The hooded figure snickered and remarked "I don't feel particularly threatened by that, Yuuga. After seeing how poorly you shoot, I'd be more concerned for my well-being if you aimed that thing at Chiaki instead of me."

Yuuga paused in surprise and demanded "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I know it was you that fired at me outside of City Hall," the figure clarified.

"How could you possibly even guess that was me?" Yuuga said in disbelief.

"You're holding a Beretta 98," the figure pointed out, "It makes a very distinct sound when it's fired. I heard that sound every time you let a round loose. Plus, I took a look at the bullet casings shortly before I left the area. They belong to one of the types of ammunition that are compatible with your gun."

"Brilliant deduction," Yuuga sharply remarked. At this time, he was trying to stall for time. That would give him a chance to come up with a plan, or to find a window of opportunity. The most effective strategy he thought of was to keep the person talking.

To begin, he suggested in a stern voice "Why don't you tell me what Kotoyo's packing?"

Kotoyo raised an eyebrow, turned her gaze momentarily to Yuuga, and quietly asked him "What are you doing?"

"Just go along with it!" he urged her softly, keeping his gaze on the assailant.

She was still slightly confused, but agreed to his suggestion. She kept her revolver pointed at the figure as he declared, "That's easy enough. She's holding a Colt Python .357 Magnum Revolver. I always found that model to be strangely reminiscent of the Smith & Wesson Model 29. It's old but effective as ever."

He paused a moment before he added in "You may be interested to know that that weapon wasn't even hers originally. It was Hitoshi's."

Yuuga raised an eyebrow. Despite his complete lack of interest, he asked "Is that a fact?"

"Indeed it is," this time it was Kotoyo who answered him, "I ran into Hitoshi around eight o'clock this morning. He wanted to help me; protect me even. At first I wanted to question his motives, but he convinced me that he was make a genuine offer. So I graciously accepted it. Almost immediately after, **this** bastard came along. Hitoshi wanted me to get to safety, so he gave me his weapon and took mine to hold this guy off."

"Is he the one who killed Hitoshi?" queried Yuuga.

"I assume so," was all Kotoyo said.

"Who else could have done it?" the hooded figure rhetorically stated, "Believe me, I killed him as surely as I killed Misaki and Chieko before him. But unlike those two, he put up quite a struggle before he went down."

Kotoyo smirked wickedly and stated "It's a good thing I left him that whip."

"Your weapon was a whip?" said Yuuga, stunned.

"Oh, yeah, it was," Kotoyo answered, still smirking "I didn't stay around to witness the resulting brawl, but I'll bet Hitoshi did quite a number on this guy with that whip."

"He did," the figure answered irately, "Shortly before I riddled him full of holes. You should have seen the look on his face when that happened. I even kept the whip as a souvenir for a while."

"What happened to it?" inquired Yuuga.

"I left it with my most recent victim," the hooded figure replied, "Switched it out for two other things he was carrying. One would be this harpoon rifle around my back. The second thing is in my pocket. You interested in seeing what it is?"

"Not if it's a grenade or anything of the sort," Kotoyo snapped.

"It isn't," the hooded figure assured them. He looked down slightly and said in a suspiciously polite voice to the girl immediately in front of him "Chiaki, would you mind reaching into my left pocket?"

Chiaki had not spoken a word ever since the hooded person had jumped her. One would have expected her to be phased or traumatized by this point. In actuality, she was only slightly unsettled. The thing that stunned her the most was how level-headed all the others seemed to be. It was almost as if they were simply having a casual conversation. Being as bold as she was, she decided to just play along. She nodded her head and began moving her left arm around the assailant's side. She slowly reached into his pocket and felt a very small device inside of it. She pulled it out and held it in the air.

"What is that?" asked Yuuga. This time he was genuinely interested.

"In a way, it's your ticket out of this game," the figure answered bluntly, "This flash drive contains a code that its owner spent most of his time working on today. He intended to use it to disable the school and get us out of here. He tried his hardest to convince me that his plan was worthwhile. But that didn't stop me from strangling him to death."

Kotoyo began to see some connection between what she already knew and what the figure had said so far. Another realization dawned on her; this one downright outraged her.

"It was Teru, wasn't it?" she muttered through gritted teeth, "You killed him with my whip?"

"That is correct," the figure replied without any emotion in his voice, "Left both it and him at the gas station. Chiaki, you can put it back now."

As Chiaki slowly returned the flash drive to her captor's pocket, Kotoyo felt herself overcome with rage.

"You asshole!" she screamed, tightening the grip on her revolver, "Don't you realize you've virtually sentenced us all to death?"

"We were all sentenced to death the moment our class was selected for this shit," the figure countered, "I'm just making certain it stays that way. If more than two of us walks out of this, those closest to us will be the ones who suffer. In fact, if either of you had an inkling of common sense, you'd turn your guns on each other right now and pray that the other doesn't fire first."

"We aren't killing anyone, unless they try to kill us first," Yuuga yelled, a note of fury beginning to rise in his normally passive voice, "On that note, I believe we've wasted enough time with this pointless conversation. Let Chiaki go this minute, or I'll make you blind in one eye."

The figure scoffed again and stated "Yuuga, you couldn't shoot me earlier on. What makes you so certain you could shoot me now? I may be closer, but my only weak spot is my head. You have a very small chance of hitting me, but a much larger chance of hitting Chiaki."

"A lot has happened in the past few hours," Yuuga remarked, "I got a few useful tips on how to handle my gun from a friendly source. I'm much more confident in my aim than I was when we last encountered each other."

"That so?" asked the figure, "Who taught you how to master the art of the firearm?"

"I did," came another voice from behind, which was followed immediately by the sound of a gun being cocked.

Everyone in that room almost jumped at this sudden outburst. Unbeknownst to all of them, someone else had slipped into the room without any of them noticing. He was standing directly behind the hooded figure. From his position, he was invisible to all four of the others. Yuuga and Kotoyo could not see him, and Chiaki and the hooded figure had their backs to him.

Behind the hooded figure's cover, he was starting to sweat nervously.

"We have a little saying in America," stated the new party, "It goes 'Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker!'"

"Blaine?" Yuuga uttered quietly.

The American student slowly walked around the right side of the hooded figure, keeping his weapon pointed at the assailant's head. To Yuuga's surprise, he was holding Kiyomi's revolver instead of his shotgun.

"Isn't this odd?" Blaine remarked, "We came here as a rescue party. Looks like there's more than one person who needs rescuing."

"Fine timing," Yuuga humored him, "Why didn't you just shoot that guy?"

"Same reason you haven't already," answered Blaine, "Because I didn't want to risk hurting Chiaki. Even from behind, I could see her standing in front of him. I have a reasonable amount of faith in my aim, but bloodshed isn't the first thing on my mind. We might attempt to negotiate like a civilized bunch of folks."

By then, Blaine had moved entirely around the figure. He was standing face-to-face with him, and he had the revolver pointed directly at his face.

The figure seemed to be perplexed by the sight of the revolver. It appeared to be an old Swedish firearm. It reminded him of a shell casing he had found in a certain part of the city earlier on. He remarked "That's a fine gun you have there."

"Thanks," Blaine drily replied, "Just so you know, it isn't mine."

"I had a feeling it wasn't yours," stated the figure.

"You misunderstand me," Blaine retorted, "There are two more people outside. They're armed with even better weapons than I am. They're just waiting for my signal to move in. If anything happens to anyone in here, you'll have more holes blown into you than a block of Swiss cheese. You may have a chance to bring one or two of us down, but all six? I don't think so."

"You make a compelling argument," said the figure, "Incidentally, you've also got my interest. How do you desire this to end?"

"Here's what I want," Blaine told him, "I want you to drop that spearhead and leave it on the ground. Then I want you to back away from Chiaki and walk backwards out the front entrance. If you just walk away from this, we'll let you live. But if you so much as reach for your weapons, you're a dead man. That clear?"

"Crystal," answered the figure. He immediately dropped the spearhead. Then he swung his right arm forward and clubbed Blaine with his submachine gun. The American stumbled backwards and dropped to the ground.

"Blaine!" shouted Yuuga, rushing forward impulsively with his gun still raised. Before he could reach his friend, the hooded figure pushed Chiaki forward. She directly collided with Yuuga and the two of them tumbled onto the ground.

The figure fumbled with his submachine gun, but a bullet sailed past his head before he could take aim. Kotoyo had fired at him from across the room. The shot just barely missed him. From the ground, Yuuga was taking aim with his own weapon.

The figure realized it would not be long before one of them got a good shot at him. He was not going to wait around for that to happen; not when such a thing could be avoided. While he would be passing up a good opportunity to eliminate some more competition, it occurred to him that he could always track them down again at a later time.

"Gotta run!" the figure slyly commented. He shouldered his weapons and took off towards the back rooms. Kotoyo and Yuuga fired repeatedly at him as he ran. Not five seconds after he began running, Tatsuo Inoue (Boy #2) and Kiyomi Takayama (Girl #12) entered through the front entrance. They were both armed; the latter of them was holding Blaine's shotgun. While Kiyomi kept an eye on the entrance, Tatsuo aimed his weapon at the figure and let loose a few rounds.

Somehow, no one's bullets managed to hit the hooded figure. It was possible they were aiming too hastily or he was quick enough to evade all their rounds. Soon enough, they saw him disappear into one of the offices on the other side of the lobby.

Kotoyo scowled and turned to the others. "Look after Blaine and Chiaki. I'm going after that son of a bitch."

"Are you crazy?" Yuuga countered, "He's got a goddamn submachine gun!"

"He's also got no escape," Kotoyo pointed out, "I'm going to take advantage of that convenience."

Then she turned around and ran after the assailant. The others would have tried to stop her, but she was gone before they could voice their disapproval.

"I'll go after her," Tatsuo assured the others, gripping his pistol, "You guys stay here. Come after me when you're all able to move."

Yuuga and Kiyomi watched as Tatsuo disappeared through the same door Kotoyo had gone through. Then Kiyomi ran to Blaine's side and helped him sit up. "Are you alright?"

Blaine was still a little dizzy from that blow to the head. He slowly rubbed his temple and answered "I guess so."

"Thank God," said Kiyomi, "You damn near scared me to death when I saw you fall. You want your shotgun back? I can barely even hold this thing steady."

"If you don't mind," Blaine answered. He switched out her revolver for his shotgun. Then he turned to Yuuga and asked him "How's Chiaki doing?"

Before anyone could answer, Chiaki moved right up to Blaine and threw her arms around him. She took Blaine quite by surprise, but he did not feel inclined to push her away. Kiyomi did not seem to disapprove, so he tentatively hugged her back.

"Thank you, Blaine," the bold girl told the American, "You saved my life."

"Yeah, well… I'd have done the same thing for anybody else," he told her as they came apart, "You are alright, correct?"

"A little shaken, but I'm doing fine," Chiaki assured him, picking up her spearhead, "If anything, I feel like an idiot for letting that asshole jump me."

"It could have happened to any of us, Chiaki," stated Yuuga, "That's not what's important, though. What's important is that we don't let it happen again, and that we all keep a level head."

"I'd say we've done a fine job of that so far," Chiaki noted, "I mean, that had to be the friendliest heated conversation I have ever observed in my life."

"Who do you think we're dealing with, anyway?" asked Blaine, "I've already got a few suspects in mind, but I'm not ready to draw any conclusions just yet. At least not until-"

Before he could continue, they heard a door swing open from the other side of the room. The four of them turned and saw Tatsuo sprinting out of it. As he approached them, they saw that the color appeared to have drained from his face. He muttered quietly and in shock "Guys… you better come with me. We have a pretty fuckin' big problem."

"What do you mean?" Kiyomi asked in alarm. "What sort of problem?"

"Just follow me," was all Tatsuo said. He spoke so quietly, that the others would have thought he was on the verge of losing his voice.

The others agreed to Tatsuo's request. They all rose to their feet, armed themselves with their weapons, and hurried over to the offices.

Once they made it to the office at the very end of the building, they stumbled upon the source of Tatsuo's tense behavior.

The window at the end of the office had been broken. Most of the glass was out in the street, meaning that someone had broken it from the inside. They quickly concluded that their hooded adversary must have done this so that he could escape.

However, the window itself was of little importance compared to what they found at its base. Closer to the wall, the group found Kotoyo lying on her side with a harpoon sticking out of her chest.

…

How would you judge someone's capacity for physical endurance? Like intelligence and mental stability, this quality depends on numerous elements. Some would say that one's size is the most critical factor.

At first, this would seem to be a reasonable assumption. A larger physique would usually imply stronger muscles and a higher tolerance for pain.

Most of the students in Class 3-A believed Kazumitsu Hayashi to have the greatest physical endurance of them all. He was certainly larger, stronger, and tougher than the rest of them. He also had a reputation for never losing a fight. He always emerged as the victor, even when he was outnumbered by older men.

However, all it took to put him down permanently was a bullet to the temple. He had fallen victim to the Program because he had been careless and negligent. While he was huge in stature, he was lacking in arguably the true most important quality of physical endurance: survival instinct.

Survival instinct is what matters the most in regards to one's physical endurance. It is even more important in the Program, as it influences the difference between "kill or be killed." Some would debate that luck plays a critical role here, but in actuality, survival is entirely up to the contestants themselves, depending upon how much they want to stay alive.

The person with the best survival instinct in Class 3-A was a girl on the cheerleading squad. In regards to her size, she was not very large. In fact, at four feet eight inches, she was the smallest person in the class. She was also the youngest, as she had started school a little earlier than most. However, despite her frame, she was as spry and elegant as a martial arts master. She had also been on several of her classmates' minds ever since the Program began.

This was Yuriye Sakaguchi (Girl #9).

Whenever someone in Class 3-A emphasized how essential it was not to underestimate people, they often cited Yuriye as an example.

All her life, Yuriye had rarely ever made a decision without considering all its possible outcomes. After making the decision, she executed it with care and refinement. She was the type of person that always liked to strive for perfection.

It was considered unprofessional for the faculty at Keio Shonan-Fujisawa Junior High to pick favorites amongst the student body. But if they were allowed to do so, Yuriye would probably be amongst the top five in several of her professors' lists. She was ambitious, hardworking, committed, compliant, and – above all – sagacious.

Yuriye was not impeccable; she made mistakes like everybody else. If she could help it, she tried to avoid making any. Even when she did make a mistake, she always did her best to correct it.

There were still times for her when correcting a mistake was easier said than done. She felt she could always be making better grades and she occasionally got in trouble at school. But whenever a friend needed help or a task needed to be done, she would never back off. Not many people in Class 3-A had as much determination as her. She was well-known by her classmates for being so delicate and careful in everything she did.

As several of her male classmates often reminded her, she was quite beautiful as well. However, she was not the flirtatious type. She was just as selective in making friends as she was with everything else. She often preferred to socialize with other girls. She and three other girls in the class made up a small clique. The four of them bonded together as if they were sisters, and they spent plenty of time around each other in and out of school.

Of course, Yuriye's companions were not all female; she had several friends of the opposite gender as well. In fact, there was one boy in her class whose company she treasured above everyone else's. This was her best friend, Yuuga Suzuki.

The two of them first met shortly before they began the fourth grade. Yuriye became friends with Yuuga simply because she liked the way he viewed the world, as well as how he thought and spoke. His ability to "read faces" fascinated her, as well.

Later on, she discovered that Yuuga liked being around her because she "understood him." She was confused at first, but he explained what he meant in detail. He told her that most people avoided him, distrusted him, or shunned him because of his ability to read faces. He had had to put up with this treatment every day of his life. She was the first person outside his family who had treated him like a totally normal person.

Yuriye was touched by Yuuga's explanation. No one had ever been as honest and straightforward with her as he had been. Once he was finished explaining, she swore that she would not judge him for his gift. She also made a promise that even if everyone else wanted nothing to do with him, she would stay his friend.

Six years later, Yuriye had never come close to breaking that promise. By the ninth grade, she and Yuuga were as close as two friends of the opposite gender could be in a platonic relationship.

Sometimes, the two of them felt that they **needed** each other. Whenever Yuuga was in trouble or distressed, he knew he could always turn to Yuriye for help.

While he was still quite antisocial, Yuuga's classmates in Class 3-A were much kinder to him than his classmates in elementary and middle school had been. Yuriye had been able to give him plenty of advice and pointers on how to be more open to everyone. They certainly respected him more, as well. In fact, Yuuga was frequently the one that anyone in the class looked to whenever they needed consoling. His exceptionally empathic mind had helped him develop an excellent sense of sound judgment.

However, even Yuuga went through periods of tension. So he went to Yuriye whenever he was troubled. In his mind, she somehow always knew just what to say and what he wanted to hear. She was the one person who never let him down. In exchange, he taught her his methods of emotional self-control. She did not use them that often, but she liked having them as an available asset.

Their connection had formed into a type of symbiotic relationship. In a way, one could say that what primarily brought them together were their innate gifts and talents. Everyone who knew both of them well enough believed to be inseparable.

Yuriye hoped that this belief was accurate. Ever since the Program began, a lot of troubles had been plaguing her mind. But her biggest worry was that Yuuga would die before she could find him.

One would wonder why she did not simply wait behind for him at the entrance of the school after she left. After all, Goro Shiroi and Tamayo Shintani were the only members of the class that left after her but before him, and neither of them struck her as unstable just yet.

Her reasoning for this was simple. Class 3-A sat in a particular seating arrangement, which was organized by their class numbers. Yuriye's number placed her at the very back in the second column. When Furutani called out her name, she was able to stop at Yuuga's desk, which was further up in the third column. She mouthed to him "I'll wait for you."

He promptly shook his head and mouthed back "No, you can't stay out in the open. You might get hurt."

Yuriye would have mouthed something back, but Furutani had irately commented "Let's get a move-on! No socializing while I'm taking role!"

Yuriye sighed, took her supply pack, and looked back at Yuuga one last time. He mouthed the words "I'll find you; I promise." Yuriye nodded and left the school. As she stepped outside, she thought about what Yuuga had asked of her. While she never made any decision too hastily, his opinion was very valuable to her. After all, Goro and Tamayo had turned around a couple of times. If Yuuga had gotten a good look at their faces, he may have detected a hint of hostility in either of them.

In addition to this, Osamu Sano had left the building right before her. While he did not have a reputation as a violent person, he was the leader of a gang. Yuriye did not feel comfortable with the idea of lingering in an area where he could have been hiding just around the corner.

After carefully going through all her options, Yuriye decided to follow through with Yuuga's request and leave the area. As soon as she was outside, she ran off to the west.

About an hour later, she arrived in the western apartment complex. She decided to lay low there and keep an eye out for signs of her classmates.

At around four o'clock, she thought she heard a gunshot somewhere south of her location. It made her feel a little nervous, but she did not panic. She stayed calm and moved away from the area.

The sun started to rise at around a quarter to six. When that happened, Yuriye decided to find some shelter. She chose to hide in one of the apartments in G-1. Once she got settled there, she checked the contents of her supply pack.

Her weapon turned out to be a hacksaw. The handle was so large that she could wrap both her small hands around it. The blade was very thin, but its points were finely sharpened. Yuriye quickly got the feel for her weapon. While she had no desire to use it, she wanted to be prepared if she was forced into a struggle.

Yuuga had predicted that Yuriye would stay indoors during the day; he was indeed correct. Yuriye had decided near the beginning of the game that she would only travel under cover of darkness. She kept herself busy for the next twelve hours with simple tasks like studying the map. She wanted to work out a plan as to how she would look for Yuuga and the other members of her clique.

By the evening announcements, she had drawn up a plan to search practically the entire city. She organized her outline by a number of different factors, such as proximity to her location, the prominence of the major buildings and foundations, and the avoidance of danger zones.

After six o'clock in the evening, the sun was starting to set. When she could just barely make it out over the horizon, Yuriye left her hideout and began her search.

The streetlights activated shortly after Yuriye made her way out of the western apartment complex. Without them, it would have been pitch black all around her. She decided against getting out her flashlight, as she did not want to risk drawing attention.

Now that she was back outside, she could execute her plan to search for her friends. She started by giving many of the neighboring apartments a quick overview. When she concluded that they were all abandoned, she moved out into the city. The first place she thought to search out there was the car wash in H-4. She quickly made her way there, stopping every now and then to check her map to verify that she was following the correct route.

She made certain to stay in shadows as much as possible. Whenever she came across a brightly lit area, she stopped to survey it. After making certain the area was empty, she zipped clear across it without pausing. Even someone with focused eyes could not have seen her as she passed.

Another remarkable thing about Yuriye was her stamina. She may have been petite, but she was definitely no weakling. She was one of the most physically-active members of Class 3-A. She had been taking gymnastics ever since she was four years old, she was a prominent member of her school's cheerleading squad, and she practiced aerobics on a regularly basis. She could do a backflip as easily as a somersault.

She also had the stealth of a ninja, and the discreetness of an assassin. These qualities enabled her to slip through the city streets unnoticed by anyone in the area.

At around 8:30, she arrived at the car wash. Yuriye had been to plenty of these facilities with her parents throughout her life. She always enjoyed the simple pleasure of watching her family's car receive the full treatment through the display windows.

As soon as she arrived, she went to work searching the shop. It was not very large, and it appeared to be deserted, but Yuriye did not want to leave any stone unturned.

Ten minutes later, she concluded that the shop was totally empty. She decided to examine the adjacent parking garage next. She stepped back outside, crossed the small parking lot, and entered the garage through the massive door. It was hard to make out anything inside the building, so Yuriye decided to risk a little more light. She switched her map out for her flashlight and flicked it on. She cautiously advanced forward, aiming the light in various directions.

It took her a little longer to search the garage, as it was full of private spaces and equipment closets. After she finished looking through the entire foundation, she sighed and muttered to herself "Looks like I've arrived at another dead end. Oh, well; no one said this search would be easy. I better move on."

Yuriye made her way back to the front entrance of the garage. But as she got closer, she thought she heard a faint tapping sound. Almost immediately, she switched off her flashlight and stopped to listen. It was coming from somewhere out in the streets, and it appeared to be getting louder… or closer.

It did not take long for Yuriye to conclude that someone else must have been in the area. She realized that he or she must have been drawn to the beam from her flashlight.

Yuriye's first inclination was to find a good hiding spot and wait for the other person to pass her by. Unfortunately, there were no closets or crates near the front entrance of the garage. Running back into the garage itself was not an option; the other person would have reached the entrance before she had time to duck for cover.

Then Yuriye noticed a large bar positioned directly above the entrance to the garage. It must have been the beam that kept the garage door itself in place whenever it was brought up. She took a moment to observe it closely. The beam was wide enough for a person to get a grip of it, and it seemed to be sturdy. She was certain it would be at least be able to support her weight.

Yuriye soon got an idea. She took off her supply pack and backpack and hid them in a dark corner of the entrance. Then she slid her flashlight and the handle of her hacksaw into the waistband of her skirt. After that, she walked up to the side of the garage entrance and climbed up the metal railing that connected to the garage door. When she reached the top, she grabbed ahold of the beam, and hoisted herself onto it. She wrapped her arms and legs around the beam and held on tightly. Then… she waited.

The sound got louder with each passing second. Finally, a figure in a sailor suit stepped up to the entrance of the garage. Yuriye could not tell who it was; she could barely even make out the person's silhouette from where she was hanging. She held her breath and watched as the person stepped inside. She was startled to see that the intruder was armed with a type of military-approved rifle.

Despite the rising tension, Yuriye managed to maintain a firm grip on the beam above the garage door. She was hoping that the person with the rifle would either go into the garage or leave it altogether. Either way, she would be left with a chance of escaping.

But for whatever reason, the figure just stood standing at the entrance of the garage, as if she was waiting for something. Yuriye quickly started to get annoyed by how her classmates was just standing there, but she did not make so much as a peep while she was hanging on the beam.

Then, something totally unexpected happening. Yuriye had not even realized that she had started to sweat over the past minute. The perspiration on her face had been slowly building up. At one moment, three drops of sweat simultaneously dripped off her face and landed onto the head of the girl below.

The girl on the ground promptly reacted. She turned around, gazed upward, and raised her gun slightly. Yuriye realized almost immediately that her cover had been blown. She let go of the beam and intercepted the intruder midair. The two of them tumbled onto the ground and struggled with each other.

Before the mysterious figure had time to use her gun, Yuriye drew her hacksaw out of her skirt and held it up to the other girl's neck. Then she sternly warned her "Don't move."

The other girl promptly complied. While it was dark, Yuriye could tell that her attention was focused on the weapon at her neck.

"Put down your gun," Yuriye ordered her.

Her classmate obeyed her and dropped the weapon to her side. Yuriye then drew her flashlight out of her skirt with her free hand, held it a few inches in front of her classmate's face, and switched it on. At first, her classmate flinched at the sudden burst of light. But when she turned back, Yuriye got a good look at her face.

Less than one second later, she went from tense to surprised.

"Tomoe?" she asked quietly.

The other girl squinted her eyes to see past the light. When she managed to make out the face of the person holding the light, she stated softly "Yuriye?"

Yuriye then shined the flashlight her way so that the other girl could get a look at her face. Then, she held it so that they could see each other equally well. Yuriye realized that her assumption was correct. She had just run into Tomoe Yamakawa (Girl #21), one of the members of her clique.

"Are you alright?" Yuriye queried, "I hope I didn't hurt you."

"You didn't," Tomoe remarked with a light smirk on her face, "But if you don't mind… could you put that hacksaw down? You're making me nervous."

Yuriye promptly dropped her hacksaw. Then she threw her arms around Tomoe and embraced her warmly. Tomoe happily returned the embrace.

Yuriye felt elated at that moment. She had been searching the city for less than two hours, and she had already managed to find one of her closest friends. She took this as a sign that her survival instincts were guiding her in the right direction, and that it would only be a matter of time before she found Yuuga and the others.

She could only hope that the rest of them were doing alright on their own.

…

"Look like I was wrong… about him having no escape," Kotoyo Fukumoto noted from the ground. It was already extremely difficult for her to speak at this point.

Blaine Rhodes, Yuuga Suzuki, Tatsuo Inoue, Kiyomi Takayama, and Chiaki Iwasaki gathered around her. They were relieved that she was still alive, but not so much that she was barely conscious.

She looked around at them and asked weakly "What? What… is it?"

Then she looked down at her chest. She was alarmed to see a harpoon protruding from her chest. She widened her eyes, but then eased down and said "Wow… and I thought vaccinations were painful. This is… downright unpleasant."

"What happened?" Blaine asked, "Can you tell us?"

Kotoyo slowly nodded her head and explained as clearly as she could manage. Every now and then, she had to stop to catch her breath or give a violent cough, "I chased that asshole right into this room. The moment I stepped through the door, he turned his harpoon rifle on me and fired. Next thing I knew, I had the wind knocked out of me. While I was down, he dropped the harpoon rifle and switched out my supply pack for one of his. It was probably Teru's. He also took my revolver. Then he broke the window and jumped out."

"I arrived just as he slipped through the frame," Tatsuo continued for her, "I would have followed him, but I'm more concerned about Kotoyo than that sack of shit. I'm sorry for letting him get away."

"No, you did the right think coming to get us, Tatsuo," Chiaki assured him, "Right now, we need to focus on aiding our own."

"I wonder why he didn't just shoot her in the head," Kiyomi thought aloud.

"Because… he wants us to be afraid," Kotoyo responded softly, "I know that from a previous encounter with him."

"That doesn't matter," said Yuuga, "You need to stop wasting your energy talking and let us help you while we still can."

Kotoyo weakly nodded and tried to move as little as possible while the others examined her injury. After studying her closely, Kiyomi reached for the end of the harpoon. But before she could wrap her hand around it, Blaine stopped her, saying "No! Don't touch it! If you pull it out too quickly, she could bleed out!"

"Then what do you suggest we do?" queried Yuuga, "She could be dying here."

"I **am **dying," Kotoyo corrected him, struggling to stay awake, "I can barely even focus right now."

"Don't talk like that, Kotoyo," Tatsuo urged her, "We've got to help you. We can't just let you die."

"Guys, this morning, I was ready to die by my own hand," Kotoyo informed them, trying to speak articulately through her heavy breathing "I would have jumped off a bridge had Hitoshi not talked me out of it. The primary reason I've lasted this long is because I made him a promise to stay safe as long as possible. His sacrifice is one of the things that's kept me going. But I can't keep going with… this."

The others realized where she was going, and they did not like it in the least.

"Guys, once more, I'm ready to die," she told them, "Believe me, I'm in a lot of pain. Too much pain to carry on like this. But you all still have a chance. That guy with the hood… he's got something; something that can get you out of this disaster."

"What might that be?" Blaine asked in interest.

"A disruption code," Kotoyo answered him softly, "Teru was working on it all day before that psychopath killed him. He had plans to use it against the school to shut it down. But that guy stole it off of him before he had a chance to complete it."

"How do you know all this?" asked Tatsuo, "Were you working with Teru?"

"No, but Toshirou and Gakuto met him this morning," Kotoyo elucidated, "Shortly after that, I encountered them at the supermarket. They told me everything Teru told them. I'd pass on my knowledge of the matter to you, but I don't think I have the time. Chiaki will tell you everything as soon as I'm… gone."

The others were quiet disturbed by how casually Kotoyo was talking about her impending death. But she was not delusional or suicidal. She was just… ready to die. She had not given up on life like she almost did earlier; she had merely accepted her fate. They were quite amazed by how bold she was. None of the rest of them were even close to acknowledging how near they all were to the brink of death.

Blaine took her hand in his and stated "If this is what you want, Kotoyo, I understand. We all understand, don't we?"

He looked around at the others for a response; they all reluctantly nodded in agreement. Then he looked back down at the musician and said "I just want to know one thing. Do you have any idea – any idea whatsoever – who that guy was?"

Kotoyo did not have much strength left, but she had enough to promptly shake her head. Then she turned to the door in the room and shouted "What the hell is that!"

The others turned to the door in surprise, but no one was there. While they were distracted, Kotoyo grabbed Chiaki's hand and shook it a bit. The bold girl looked back down at Kotoyo, who was glaring back at her. Kotoyo slowly mouthed the phrase "Don't you say a word."

Chiaki knew full well that Kotoyo was referring to the agreement they had made earlier about keeping the identity of the player with submachine gun anonymous for the present. Obviously, Kotoyo wanted it to stay that way. Chiaki simply nodded her head in compliance. While she wanted to keep the others safe, she felt the least she could do was respect Kotoyo's dying wish.

"I didn't see anything," stated Tatsuo.

"My mistake," Kotoyo weakly claimed, "I thought I saw something moving. I guess I'm hallucinating. Anyway, that killer's identity doesn't matter. All that does matter is that you find that guy and stop him. Get that disruption code, use it against the school, and leave this hellhole. Try as hard as you can to escape. Promise me you'll at least try."

All five of them swore to her on the spot that they would try their hardest. Knowing this set Kotoyo's mind at ease. A slow smile came across her face and she told them "I'm… I'm actually glad I didn't opt out of the game this morning. I'm… happy… that I lived long enough… so that I could… give somebody else a chance… to survive. Hitoshi… would definitely be proud… for how he influenced me. I wonder… if I'll see him… on the other side?"

Blaine delicately took her hand in his and told her "I guarantee it. People who do good deeds… always meet good ends."

Kotoyo smiled and slowly nodded her head. After about ten seconds, she stopped nodding. Then her smile gradually faded. She quickly stopped blinking, breathing, and moving altogether. Blaine closed her eyelids and gently brushed a few loose locks of hair off her forehead. As he backed off, he stared down at Kotoyo's body.

"She looks so… peaceful," he told the others, as he looked up at them. Kiyomi and Chiaki were trying their hardest to hold back tears. Tatsuo seemed speechless, and Yuuga could just gaze blankly down at Kotoyo.

"Yes, she does," Yuuga agreed, "Now, she doesn't have to worry about any of this stuff. But as long as we're still here, our worries are far from over. We have plenty that needs to be done."

"He's right," Chiaki agreed, picking up her spearhead, "We have to move on."

"Just a moment," said Tatsuo, "We have a lot that needs to be addressed before we 'move on.'"

"That is true," stated Yuuga, looking around at the others, "Let's start out simple. Guys, don't take this the wrong way, but what the hell are you doing here?"

"We waited for you at City Hall for over an hour," Kiyomi explained, "When you didn't show, we began to get worried."

"We know you wouldn't have just ditched us, so we suspected that something was up," Tatsuo continued for her, "Twenty minutes after your deadline, Blaine wanted to go looking for you. Kiyomi and I tried our hardest to talk him out of it, but he gave some very compelling reasons why we should."

"I think it was my 'leave-no-man-behind' speech that ultimately convinced them," stated Blaine, "I only wish we could have gotten here sooner. We might have been able to avoid this ordeal if we had."

"Don't think like that, Blaine," Chiaki tried to console him, "There's no way of knowing what could have happened. You can certainly believe that Kotoyo would be alive. But it's equally likely that all of us would be dead now."

"Well, I can't argue with that logic, Chiaki," Blaine concurred.

Over the next twenty minutes, the five of them recounted all their experiences ever since the beginning of the game. Yuuga explained to Blaine, Kiyomi, and Tatsuo why he was so late, and how he hooked up with Chiaki and Kotoyo. The four of them explained to Chiaki how they had been hiding out in City Hall all day, and how the hooded figure had convinced them that it was not safe to linger in that area much longer. In turn, Chiaki recalled everything Kotoyo had told her, such as her encounter with Hitoshi, and her encounter with Toshirou and Gakuto. She kept quiet about the hooded figure's identity, but she did cover the matter of what Teru was working on. The information regarding Teru's plan had already switched hands three times, so Chiaki's description of it was vague at best. But it was hopeful information all the same.

Once they were all finished with their explanations, there was a short period of silence. Then Tatsuo asked "What do you reckon we should do now?"

"Despite everything that's happened, I fully intend to find Yuriye," Yuuga answered him, "Chiaki and I are going to look for her and the others. I think we should give Teru's plan some consideration as well. Maybe we can try to pick up where he left off."

"But we wouldn't even know where to begin," Blaine pointed out.

"That's not entirely true," Chiaki countered, "Kotoyo told me that she saw him set up base on the police station in D-5 just after he left the school. The assailant also happened to mention that he killed Teru near the gas station. Now we know where he is and where he was working. That should give us some idea."

"That's what I was thinking," Yuuga remarked, "But we won't get anywhere without that disruption code. Not unless we get rid of that hooded figure and recover that flash drive he stole from Teru's body."

"I'll remember that if we happen to encounter him again," Blaine assured his empathic friend, "I already made the mistake of trying to negotiate with that murderer. If I see him again, I'll shoot him on sight."

"So will I," Tatsuo agreed, holding up his pistol.

"Me, too," said Kiyomi.

"And me," Yuuga added in.

The four of them then turned to Chiaki, as if they expected her to speak.

"I'd shoot him, too," she assured them, "Problem is I don't have a gun."

At that, Blaine picked up the unloaded harpoon rifle and gave it to her, saying "You do now."

"Thanks, Blaine, but it's empty," she noted, "And before you suggest it, I'm definitely not using the harpoon in Kotoyo's chest."

Yuuga then pushed a supply pack her way and said "This had to have been Teru's supply pack. If the harpoon rifle was his weapon, there may be an extra harpoon in it."

Sure enough, there was another harpoon in the supply pack. Chiaki loaded it into the rifle and slung the strap over her shoulders.

"Why'd you trade weapons with Kiyomi, anyway?" queried Yuuga.

"Because I wanted her to be better armed than me," explained Blaine, "I don't regret doing that. If I faced that hooded figure with my shotgun, it would have been nearly impossible for me to get a good aim at his head while Chiaki was in the line of fire. But with Kiyomi's revolver, I could get a good, clear shot."

"Smart thinking," commented Tatsuo.

"When your father's a Marine, you learn a few things about tactics," Blaine elucidated.

"On the subject of tactics, what should we do now?" inquired Kiyomi, "We sure as hell can't stay here, not after all that's happened."

"She's got a point," Tatsuo agreed, "We should find another hideout."

"No, to **hell **with that," Blaine snapped, "I'm done with hiding. If we stay in **any **place for too long, trouble will come our way."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" inquired Tatsuo.

"I say we stay on our feet and move around the city," Blaine proposed, "Now that it's getting dark, we'll have the element of stealth on our side. We can rest in a different building every couple hours or so. Plus, now that we know that there really **is **a possibility of escape, we should make ourselves useful. I think Yuuga and Chiaki have the right idea, searching for potential allies. Maybe we can do the same."

"I suppose so," said Kiyomi, "I'd certainly like to find Asayo before anything happens to her."

"And Genji, too," Tatsuo suggested, "He'd know what to do."

"Yeah, I'd be nice to have Genji on our side," Blaine agreed.

"Just… be careful of who you trust," Chiaki cautioned them, looking away.

"You don't have to tell me twice," Tatsuo responded, "Believe me, after what we've been through, I'm not taking anything or anyone for granted. I'll draw my gun at the first sign of hostility."

There was a moment of silence. Then Chiaki broke it with "By the way, guys, there's something else you should know. Something about how the instructors are keeping track of us."

The others turned their attention to her. She put her finger on her lips to gesture for silence; then she pointed at her necklace with the same finger. She mouthed the words "They're listening."

The others seemed confused. Blaine opened his mouth as if to ask "What do you mean," but Chiaki frantically shook her hand to signal him to keep quiet. Then she looked around at the others and mouthed the words "Microphones in the necklaces. I learned that from Kotoyo, who learned it from Gakuto, who learned it from Teru. If you have anything to say that you don't want Furutani and the soldiers to hear, either write it down or cover up your mic."

While none of the others were experts in lip-reading, they managed to comprehend everything Chiaki had told them. They all nodded in agreement and made a note of the necklaces.

Blaine and Yuuga got out their maps and began planning on where to go.

"The gas station is a little southwest of here," Yuuga thought aloud, "We should make a note to stop by that place while we're out looking for Yuriye."

"Sounds good to me," said Chiaki. She turned to Blaine and asked him "Any place you guys have in mind?"

"We're thinking of heading in the opposite direction," stated Blaine, "It would be best if we cover as much ground as possible in as little time as possible. If we're quick enough, we can slip unnoticed by any unfriendly parties."

"I can dig it," said Kiyomi.

"Looks like it's all settled then," noted Tatsuo, "Except for one thing."

"What might that be?" queried Blaine.

"Rendezvous," Tatsuo replied, signaling the others to cover up their necklaces, "Once we've found the rest of our friends and retrieved that flash drive from that killer, we'll need to regroup. Once the school's disabled, we'll need sufficiently large numbers to overcome it."

"He's right," Chiaki agreed, "Where's a good place we could meet up?"

The others looked over their maps for any promising gathering spots. After a few minutes, Yuuga said "What about the library in D-4? It's close enough to the school, and we'd be able to see or hear anyone coming from a distance."

"I like that idea," stated Tatsuo, "A library would probably be much safer than anywhere we've already been so far. Let's just hope this one is as quiet as the one back home."

"Should we set a specific time for when we meet up?" asked Kiyomi.

"Why not the same time tomorrow?" suggested Chiaki, "I'm certain we'll manage to find Yuriye and some of the others by then. We'd also have plenty of time to get rid of that hooded figure. Even if we haven't, I still think it's a good idea for us to keep track of what we know."

"Then it's decided," Blaine remarked, "We'll meet up at the library at approximately… nine o'clock tomorrow night."

The others agreed to this proposal. Then they gathered up their belongings, armed themselves, and left the office. They left Kotoyo's body untouched, but out of respect, they all looked back at it one last time.

The five of them made their way to the front of the hotel. Once they were outside, they bid each other good luck and went their separate ways. Chiaki and Yuuga headed off to the west while Blaine, Kiyomi, and Tatsuo headed off to the east. Now the hotel was empty.

However, the area was not.

On the other side of the hotel, Genji Nishihara (Boy #14) was squatting just outside the broken window that belonged to the office with Kotoyo's body. He had momentarily taken off the hood to his sweatshirt to wipe his brow clean of sweat.

He had been crouching down on that spot for the previous half-hour, eavesdropping on the conversation that had taken place within. He heard every word his classmates had said.

Now that the voices had stopped, he stood up straight and peeked inside the office. With the exception of Kotoyo's body, the room was empty.

Genji smirked evilly and leaned against the wall. He looked down at the weapons in his hands. One of them was his submachine gun; the other was the revolver he had taken from Kotoyo. Now he had two firearms in his clutches. He had special plans for the two of them.

"Make a note," Genji muttered under his breath, "Meeting, library, tomorrow night. I'll be there."

**Girl #18 Kotoyo Fukumoto – Dead**

**25 Students Remaining**


	28. Facing The Limits

**Before I begin, I'd like to thank Rockythetigre for another lengthy review. Thanks for evaluating the rest of the characters in your last review, as well. Even though it may not have been as analytical as the original, it was still enjoyable to read.**

**Here's the answers to your questions:**

**1. It actually only takes me between 3 and 5 days to write another chapter, but I only update every other week for several reasons. For one, I don't want to overexert myself, and writing one of these chapters takes a LOT of effort. Plus, I've got other things going on, like my 5-week Accounting Class (which ends on July 3****rd****). Usually, I take about a whole week off after each update to give my mind some time to rest. Then I look at the outline for the next chapter (I always make an outline in advance), and decide where to go from there. It's usually slow starting, but after I get an idea of how to open each section of the chapter, everything gradually comes into place.**

**2. Thank you again; I try to be extremely thorough. I already knew about most of the information ahead of time (such as Yukio Mishima's **_**Patriotism**_**), but I still had to do a good deal of research for certain other things (such as the firearms and some of the other weapons).**

**3. Oh, my yes. I'm a hardcore Battle Royale fan. I've seen the movie at least seven times, I bring my own copy of the book everywhere I go, and I have all fifteen volumes of the manga both in electronic form and in physical form. I can't really decide which of the three is best; they're all so good! Between you and me, I hope somebody decides to make an anime out of the manga someday.**

**4. Do you mean who are my favorite and least favorite from the original class or my own class? Just to be certain, I'll tell you my favorite and least favorite boy and girl from both classes. I'd say my favorites from the original were Shinji Mimura and Yukie Utsumi I admired Shinji for how resourceful and cunning he was, and I liked Yukie for how understanding, responsible, and caring she was to all her friends and classmates. My least favorites were Kaori Minami and definitely Kazushi Niida. Kaori had little qualities outside of being an insecure person who eventually becomes a lunatic. Don't think I really need to explain Kazushi; if there was one person in that class who DESERVED to die, it was that perverted piece of shit, especially the manga version of him.**

**It's a little more difficult to pick favorites between all of my characters. After all, they're my own creation, and I gave them all of their individual strengths and weaknesses. However, I suppose I can bring myself to choose a select few. I suppose my favorites are Yuuga Suzuki and Yuriye Sakaguchi. I think I had more enjoyment coming up with Yuuga's persona than anyone else's; I liked making him in control of his emotions and somewhat empathic. I know Yuriye was just introduced in the last chapter, but I have a lot of things planned for her. From this point on, she'll be one of the primary characters in the story. Also, like Yuuga, her intentions are good in nature, but she is not afraid to kill to protect her own. My least favorites are probably Tamayo Shintani and Kazuki Chikuda. That's simply because I never gave Tamayo much more personality outside of being a Daddy's Girl or Kauzki much more outside of being a solitary loner.**

**5. You are correct. The contents of that letter are for me to know and everyone else to EVENTUALLY find out. Don't worry about the letter for now; it'll be a while before the next time Blaine brings it up.**

**By the way, I apologize if the last part of this chapter seems rushed. But rather than making up a pointless excuse, I'll just say that I'm going to do my best to make certain not to rush anything in the next chapter.**

**Here we go!**

On the subject of survival instinct, it is important to note that this quality is more than something that incites people to stay out of harm's way. In a much broader sense, it can be interpreted as the very thing that gives every sentient being the will to live.

From the moment of birth, everyone relishes in the fact that he or she is alive. This is to be expected; life is innately precious to all. People typically come to appreciate it more and more overtime as they age. Of course, no one has ever lived a perfect life and it is likely no one ever will. We all face our fair share of complications along the way.

There are times when some people face obstacles that are so arduous and challenging that they may make everything seem pointless. In this context, "everything" can include life itself. The majority of the time, these people manage to overcome their hardships and go back to enjoying their lives shortly after. Some even end up laughing over how worried they had been and think of their past anxiety as needless.

However, on occasion, some people encounter a problem so difficult that it leads to them giving up on life altogether. These sorts of thoughts can bring about suicidal tendencies.

A variety of factors can result in suicide, such as destitution, pressure, the loss of what one values the most, and – most often – the belief that one has nothing to live for. Under the right set of circumstances, anyone can end up feeling this way.

Daisuke Araki (Boy #1) had always been one to look on the bright side of life. He came from a middle-class family. His parents had been car salesmen in downtown Fujisawa for over twenty-five years. They had been partners in this business long before they had gotten married. The two of them could hardly be classified as rich, but they always made enough money to support Daisuke and his siblings.

He had been first at many different things, as well. This included things he had no control over. He was the firstborn of four children, the first person in Fujisawa to receive an offer from two universities in both North and South Korea, and – because of his surname – the first person listed in the roll of each of his classes. When at school, that last one also made him the first person in line, the first person to sign up for a project, and the first person to choose his resources for that project.

Daisuke had developed high self-esteem from his background, prerogatives, and accomplishments. He was never one to boast or gloat, but all the same, he was proud of his upbringing. Instead of indulging himself in it, he had used it to improve himself.

This was one of the reasons why Daisuke had made so many friends throughout his life. Many of them viewed him as a dependable and trustworthy character. Others recognized him as a caring and compassionate individual. Overall, he was just an easy person to get along with. No one knew this better than his best friend, Naozumi Matsuno (Boy #20).

Naozumi's upbringing was not as pleasant as Daisuke's. While his parents were decent folks, they were not as close to their son as Daisuke's were to theirs. They still cared for him, but they did so in their own way.

Naozumi's father had made it his own goal to "make a man" out of him. He wanted Naozumi to become a strong, assertive man.

He only half-succeeded in this goal. After years of going through strenuous exercise programs and a strict diet composed mainly of whole and healthy foods, Naozumi had been rewarded with a large, durable, muscle-bound body. He still had to eat right and work out on a regular basis to maintain it, but to him and his father, the efforts were worth it. He had indeed become strong.

However, his father's efforts to make him assertive had been hindered by his mother. Naozumi's mother had warned him about using his strength for harmful means. She frequently lectured him on how no good ever came to someone who gave into violence, and how things never worked out for those types of people. Her speeches were much more meaningful than his father's, and they left a much greater impression on him.

Her husband had tried toughening their son up through several different methods, most notably intimidation. None of them ever worked, as Naozumi refused to take any course of action that would result in him becoming aggressive. His father was a very persistent man, though. He tried for the longest time to make his son more defensive and confident in his physical capabilities. Eventually, he was convinced into giving up in this task by his wife.

When viewed in perspective, some would consider Naozumi to be something of a tragic figure. While he did have a firm and finely-developed body, he did not have the proper motivations to use it. He was often derided by several of his classmates for being so sensitive. But he never fought back.

However, Daisuke did not have that same problem. He was more than willing to stand up to defend Naozumi and himself when the situation called for it. He would even resort to violence if he had no other alternative. While he was nowhere near as strong as Naozumi, people usually backed off whenever he put his food down. After all, Daisuke was known to be one of the most likable and most reasonable people in Class 3-A. Only a few of his classmates would be willing to get on bad terms with him and risk the consequences. In fact, the only two members of the class who had openly and hostilely opposed Daisuke in a confrontation were Tsukasa Yoshizawa and Toshirou Oosaki.

The encounter with Tsukasa had taken place earlier that morning, but the event with Toshirou had taken placed many months beforehand. That matter will be discussed in more detail later.

Aside from an incident every now and then, Daisuke had nothing to complain about in his life. He valued every moment he spent alive, and he rarely ever felt negatively about anything.

When he woke up in the classroom, he still felt the same hopelessness everyone else felt. However, he remained light years away from giving up. He knew from the start that his chances would not be promising, but he would stay alive for as long as he could manage.

When the game began, Daisuke tried his hardest to convince himself that he would have a rational chance of survival. Aside from Blaine Rhodes, he had been the first person to leave the school. That would give him a head start in front of everyone else.

Once he was out on the street, he came up with three main priorities: avoid any huge or unnecessary risks, make some allies, and locate Naozumi. Of course, he knew it would be tough to accomplish the latter two without violating the first one.

He initially felt a little unlucky to have received a fire extinguisher as his weapon. But he still managed to think positively on it. After all, if worse came to worst, he could always use the canister as a club.

Once he was clear of the area, he tried organizing a plan. But even someone as positive as him was not immune to stress. There was plenty of stress to go around for everyone in Class 3-A. Daisuke had enough to prevent him from concentrating properly.

However, about an hour after he left the school, he had come across Kenzou Iwamoto (Boy #3). He had known Kenzou for about two years before they attended Keio Shonan-Fujisawa Junior High School, so he managed to bring himself to trust him. Out of mutual self-interest, the two of them agreed to partner up.

Another hour later, they came across Shuuichi Kai and Tsukasa Yoshizawa. They were pleased that Shuuichi was more than eager to join up with them; they felt they could use someone with as much experience with firearms as him. They were not as pleased to see Tsukasa; they had a very low tolerance for his arrogant behavior. However, Shuuichi managed to get them to put up with Tsukasa.

The four of them decided to seek shelter in the western apartment complex. Not long before the morning announcements, Kenzou had spotted Naozumi crossing through the area. Daisuke was delighted to know that his best friend had been found. It was here that he began to believe that things would start looking up.

The next few hours progressed slowly but efficiently. Daisuke became more inclined to think positively after he and the others managed to work out a plan.

But after he got shot and Tsukasa was killed, Daisuke started to form a much different outlook on the Program. Never in his life had he been in more agony than he was when that projectile hit him in the chest cavity. He felt as if someone had slowly gutted him with a pin knife.

However, he still made an effort to remain in good spirits. He did this not just for his sake, but for Naozumi's as well. He could tell that Naozumi was overcome with worry for him. He tried to appear strong for his friend, but it was difficult when he was under such searing pain.

The process of extracting the bullet was far from pleasing as well. While Kenzou's amateur operation may have worked, it had left Daisuke feeling even more pain than he felt when he got shot. In under an hour, he had had an injection in his hand, his stomach partly cut open, a pair of tweezers dig inside of him, the cut stretched in diameter, and the incision sewn up with a needle and thread. To top it off, he had been awake through all of that with nothing but morphine to ease his suffering. Agonizing did not come even close to describing his experience. Losing so much blood was the worst part. It made him feel extremely disoriented and unsettled. He was just grateful that Kenzou had been able to conduct the blood transfusion and that Shuuichi had been there to donate the needed amount for him. As far as they were concerned, they had done right by him.

So when the two of them left the hospital to search the fire department, Daisuke was hopeful that they would manage well enough on their own. He was more worried for them than he was for himself. Certainly, neither of them had been wounded yet, but neither of them had a friend as protective and loyal as Naozumi at his side. Naozumi's presence was one of the things that had gotten Daisuke through the long hours following the removal of the bullet.

After the evening announcements, Daisuke had indeed been thinking clearly when he told Naozumi to leave him behind. He had not lost his will to live, but he was more concerned about his best friend's well-being than his own. He had always been like that, putting others before himself. Fortunately, Naozumi managed to talk Daisuke out of this idea.

As Naozumi rolled him out of the hospital and through the city streets, Daisuke kept his attention focused on their surroundings. He hoped that the two of them would be safe for the present. However, if they did run into trouble, he knew he would not be very useful with a gunshot injury and nothing more than a tomahawk to fight with.

Daisuke's self-esteem took a toll when he actually began to feel downright useless. His injury and surgery had left him feeling amazingly weak. Regardless of the weapon or cover they found, Naozumi would have been on his own to defend them if they encountered another player. This realization left Daisuke feeling like a burden to his best friend. However, he decided to keep these thoughts to himself for the moment.

Soon, they arrived in the western apartment complex. They managed to find an unlocked flat in F-2. They quickly got settled in, but not too settled. They had already taken shelter in two areas that had become danger zones shortly afterwards; they would not have been surprised if that happened a third time.

Naozumi rolled Daisuke's bed in front of a couch and took a seat on that same couch. The two of them had been there for over two hours. They passed the time with Smalltalk and jokes. Daisuke was still in pain, but for the best part, they managed to control his pain with relief and comfort. The morphine from the hospital provided most of the relief, but Naozumi provided most of the comfort.

"Remember that time we watched all twelve episodes of _High School of the Dead _in a row?" inquired Naozumi.

"Boy, do I ever!" Daisuke responded brightly, "I don't think I'll ever forget when we saw that marathon. Hopefully our parents will, though. After all, it's got everything they wouldn't want use seeing: zombies, graphic violence, and borderline nudity. It's just one slip shy of being a hentai instead of an anime."

"True, but I'm glad you talked me into it," Naozumi remarked, "I recall that I was reluctant to watch it when we started. In the end, I found myself wanting more of that stuff."

"Blaine told me they've got a similar show over in America called _The Walking Dead_," Daisuke informed him.

"I know, I've seen the first couple episodes," stated Naozumi, "It's really good. Like _High School of the Dead_, it's based on a bunch of graphic novels. While there isn't much in the way of humor or sexuality, it's very gripping. In fact, based off of what I've seen, I'd say it's even better than _High School of the Dead_."

"Then how come you only watched the first couple episodes?" asked Daisuke.

"Because I wanted you to see them also so that we could watch the rest of them together," Naozumi answered, "I figured that show could be something we'd be able to enjoy together."

"Well, thanks for that, dude," said Daisuke, smirking, "I'm certain I would have liked it, too. What specifically drew you into it?"

"To be honest, a lot of things did," Naozumi explained, "You see, it's much darker, more dramatic, and more violent. There's also some good subplots that build up psychological development between the characters as they fight for their survival."

"I imagine there'd be a lot of tension in that kind of scenario," Daisuke speculated, "After all, can you imagine such a setting? Frequently being on the move, never being able to let your guard down, facing dangers at every turn… that sounds like a nightmare."

"Actually, I think you pretty much summarized what we're going through right now," noted Naozumi, "We're fighting a desperate battle for our own survival."

"That's a pretty reasonable way of putting it," Daisuke agreed, "But between you and me, I think I'd much prefer a zombie apocalypse over THIS. I mean, at least we'd all be able to work and fight together under those circumstances."

"I understand your position," Naozumi commented, "Both scenarios would inevitably result in bloodshed. However, in the long run, you should give the zombies some credit. They may be mindless, flesh-eating corpses, but at least **they** don't kill each other. They would only kill us. We, on the other hand, would end up killing them… and each other."

"That's sad, but quite true. Very, very true." Daisuke concurred.

There was a short interval of silence. Daisuke looked off to the side as if he was lost in thought. When Naozumi turned to him, he noticed a tear forming in the corner of Daisuke's eye.

"Are you alright?" he asked in concern.

"Yeah, I'm… I'm fine," Daisuke replied calmly, "But… I just can't stop thinking… about this morning."

Naozumi leaned forward a bit and stated "I understand what you mean. I'm certain that if I got shot, I would be unable to forget it, either."

"I'm not… talking about that," Daisuke clarified, "I'm talking about what happened immediately before, when that song played over the loudspeaker. It was a lovely song, wasn't it?"

Naozumi nodded his head.

"Well, shortly after it, I got into that argument with Tsukasa," Daisuke recalled, "I ridiculed him for thinking that _Les Misérables_ took place during the French Revolution. Then I went on to call him a puppet and a fool. Do you remember that?"

"Of course I do," said Naozumi. He held up the rifle and stated "Tsukasa turned this weapon on you immediately afterwards. I don't think I could forget something like that. I was so worried that he was going to shoot you."

"I wasn't worried," Daisuke stated frankly, "He might have had a huge-ass ego, but I was confident that he would not be willing to kill over such a small matter. In fact, at the time, all I can remember feeling was a strong desire to mock Tsukasa. I have no idea what came over me."

"You were under a lot of anxiety; we all were," Naozumi countered, "People say things they don't fully mean when they're nervous. No one blames you for that."

"Maybe, but I blame myself for what happened after," Daisuke enlightened his friend, "The only reason that sniper spotted us was because we were out in the open. If I had just kept my mouth shut, we would have moved on and gotten out of the shooter's range. Instead, I decided to throw petty insults at Tsukasa. Not only did that hinder us, but it made us easy, stationary targets. Now Tsukasa's dead and… well, look what happened to me!"

Naozumi placed his hand on Daisuke's and asked him "What exactly are you saying, Daisuke?"

Daisuke waited a few moments before responding: "I'm saying that… Tsukasa's death was entirely my fault. **Entirely**. I'm just as responsible as that sniper for what happened to him. In fact, I may as well have pulled the trigger myself."

Naozumi's eyes widened in shock. "Surely you don't mean that…"

"I do mean it, Naozumi," Daisuke replied grimly, "Isn't it odd? That was probably the only time in my life when I acted upon my contempt for someone. It resulted in a person's death and a fatal injury on my part. Maybe… I deserve this."

Naozumi could not believe what he was hearing. He moved closer to his best friend and insisted "That's bullshit. Pure bullshit. You can't pin the blame for Tsukasa on yourself. Even **if **you were responsible, you most certainly did **not **deserve this."

Daisuke just turned away and said "Yes, I did. After all, I'm suffering for what happened. Seems appropriate for the one who suffers the most to be the guilty party."

"Stop thinking that way…" Naozumi began, placing his hand to his best friend's forehead. He withdrew it immediately after; Daisuke's forehead was giving off extreme amounts of head. "Are you… okay?"

"I meant everything I said, if that's what you're asking," Daisuke replied bluntly.

Naozumi carefully placed his hand against Daisuke's forehead again. He told him "Daisuke, you're burning up! You must be running a fever or something."

"No, I'm not; I'm fine," Daisuke insisted, "I just feel a little hot. That's all."

"What feels hot?" asked Naozumi worriedly.

"My head… and my chest," Daisuke slowly answered him, "Specifically the region where I got shot."

"Maybe I should check out your wound," Naozumi suggested. He picked up the first aid kit he had taken from the hospital, opened it up, and turned towards Daisuke. "Hold still; I'm going to remove your bandage."

Daisuke complied and stayed perfectly still as Naozumi went to work removing his bandage. He was very careful and delicate with his best friend. It took almost three minutes, but he got it off without so much as a wince from his best friend.

However, when the bandage was finally off, Naozumi was not at all pleased with what he saw. The veins around Daisuke's wound were pressing up against his skin. They were quite discolored and very visible. Those were surefire indications that they were enflamed.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Naozumi inquired.

"Yeah, but the pain's starting to come back," Daisuke answered him, sounding weak all of a sudden, "How much morphine do we have left?"

Naozumi turned to the bottle of morphine on the coffee table and looked it over. It was almost empty.

When he realized this, he began to sweat nervously. Up until this point, the morphine had been the sole reason Daisuke had been able to withstand the pain. Now their supply was almost gone, and Daisuke was showing signs of an infection. Naozumi had no idea how he could treat something as serious as that.

For over twelve hours, Daisuke had been going through a tremendous amount of pain. Having a morphine injection every couple of hours had helped to numb the pain. However, every time the morphine wore off, Daisuke felt even worse than before. Now that he had an infection, the pain would only get worse.

A person can only withstand so much pain at any one time. When one reaches their threshold for pain, they also reach their physical and mental limits for pressure. These often produce very ugly repercussions. Once Naozumi and Daisuke ran out of morphine, the latter would be close to reaching his own threshold.

In addition to this, Daisuke was still fuming with himself for his role in Tsukasa's death. Despite Naozumi's efforts to convince him otherwise, he believed that he was the only one to blame for that incident. He was experiencing a great deal of self-loathing because of it.

Pain and self-loathing are both very trying concepts. Either one of them can eventually drive a person to suicidal tendencies. When experienced together, these tendencies can come about even sooner.

…

"You'd think we'd at least be able to spot the mall by now," Reika Fujihara (Girl #19) thought aloud as she studied her map.

"If the sun was out, we probably would," Osamu Sano (Boy #9) theorized, "But due to the current circumstances, that would be difficult. For one thing, it's pitch black outside. As far as I can see, the moon isn't even out. Right now, our only sources of light are the streetlights. But they're placed above, around, behind, and in front of us. Their beams are also shining down towards us. With all that together, it would be hard for us to see anything in the distance."

"Very analytical," Reika remarked in admiration, "Except, of course, distance isn't the only factor. We also need to consider location. I mean, it's hard to make out this map with nothing but the streetlights to help us read it. It would probably be useful if we could use our flashlights."

"I'm tempted to do that, but I don't want to risk drawing attention," Osamu explicated, "Our flashlights are much brighter than the streetlights, and they'd originate from the ground where we are. That would make us easier targets for any potential players. As long as we don't stand directly under the streetlights, we should be invisible to anyone who may be in the area."

"Seems logical to me," said Reika.

Osamu and Reika had been wandering the city streets ever since they left the carpentry shop. They were still trying to get to A-7, which proved to be much easier said than done. To ensure their safety, they had taken a great number of precautions. Most of them had somewhat slowed them down. They had spent much of the time peeking around corners and prowling through alleys. However, most of their intended route required them to be out in the open on the streets. Their cautious approach had hindered them, but they were still hopeful that they would arrive at the mall within the hour.

"This reminds me of that deal we once did with the Yakuza," stated Reika.

"Which one?" said Osamu.

"The one where the guy in charge was Shimazaki," Reika clarified.

"You mean Seiji?" Osamu asked rhetorically.

"You remember him?" commented Reika.

Osamu snickered and remarked "How could I ever forget that asshole? Seiji Shimazaki had to be the most paranoid gangster I ever met in my life. I'm still flabbergasted that a guy like him could have risen so highly in the Yakuza ranks."

"Maybe he had some family ties to the group before he even joined it," Reika hypothesized, "I could have sworn that another member we worked with once mentioned another Shimazaki. Probably an uncle, cousin, or brother. Maybe even his father."

"That could be," Osamu concurred, "But getting back to what you were saying earlier, how does this remind you of that deal with Seiji?"

"All this wandering about made me think about what he put us through before we even arrived at the meeting place," Reika explained, "You remember how it went? All of it took place at that abandoned neighborhood outside of town. He had us arrive there an hour early so that his lackeys could 'interview' us. Then they had us empty our pockets and remove any extra lairs of clothing to ensure that we weren't bugged or packing heat. They probably would have gone so far as to strip-search us if Kazumitsu had not put his foot down."

"I suppose it was fortunate that those guys knew better than to argue with a giant," Osamu commented.

"Fortunate, indeed," Reika agreed. Then she continued "Anyway, after that pointless interrogation, they told us to go to that building on the other side. Rather than letting us go around the neighborhood or straight through it, they gave us a very complex route to follow. It was like a goddamn maze, getting through that area. The houses and streets all looked the same, the streetlights were dim at best, and the instructions they gave us weren't all that thorough, either. That didn't even give us an escort. That made it all but impossible to get to the rendezvous on time."

"Yeah, I don't think any of us were having a ball," Osamu recalled, "I would have loved to deviate from the course, but you know how the Yakuza are. They want us to stay where their sentries could see us at all times. They force us to trust them not to ambush us. They put us through all sorts of bullshit to give us the impression that they are 'superior' or something. Yes, it's annoying and stupid, but I still say it's worth it for the goods."

"Yeah, the merchandise is the one thing about it that went alright for me," Reika concurred, "I still can't help but think about how similar that deal was to what we've been going through."

"Only there's a lot more at stake than the integrity of a trade," Osamu noted, "We were able to trust the Yakuza not to turn violent on us. We can't say the same thing about anyone we'd encounter here. Heh, how do you like that? As of right now, gangsters are more trustworthy than our classmates."

"At least we have weapons this time around," Reika pointed out.

"Yes, but you've got that pistol," Osamu countered. He held up his own weapon and added "All I've got is this lousy Swiss army knife."

"The same lousy Swiss army knife that helped you pick a car lock this morning without triggering the alarm?" Reika commented.

Osamu smirked and stated "Yeah. That's the one."

The two of them had been moving through the streets throughout the duration of their conversation. They had mostly kept their eyes focused on their maps and their path. They had not gazed at each other very much in that time. Of course, that did not mean they were focusing solely on their work.

At one point, Osamu turned to his partner and said "Reika, how do you do it?"

"Do what?" she inquired.

"How are you always able to stay so calm, cool, and collected?" Osamu illuminated, "You were like all throughout the deal with Seiji. I could tell you were opposed to some aspects of the Yakuza's 'protocol,' but you put up with all of them. They outnumbered us and they were armed, but you were indifferent to all of that. You could have expressed your opposition to the plan whenever you wanted. You know full well I would have listened to it and taken it into account. Yet you never voiced your disapproval. In fact, as far as I can remember, you never have. Regardless of how difficult a situation appears to be, you manage to get through it without worry and without complaint. I can't say that about the others; at some point or other, they've all tried persuading me to abandon a deal or to utilize another approach. But not you. Aside from that, you're always looking on the bright side. Nothing ever seems to disturb you or bother you. Not even the Program. You seem to be even more confident than I am that we will make it through this. How do you do it?"

Reika did not respond immediately. She had listened to everything Osamu had just told her, and she understood what precisely he was asking her. She actually had a very specific answer to his question. However, she wanted to present it in such a way that there would be no ambiguity. She also wanted to explain it at a more appropriate time, preferably whenever they were not out in the open. However, whenever Osamu asked her a question, she was compelled to answer it honestly and entirely.

Just as she opened her mouth to begin explaining, everything went dark in front of them.

The two of them stopped walking and looked all over the area. They realized they had come to an intersection. Osamu remarked in a dumbfounded tone "What happened? Are all the streetlights in this part of the city inactive or something?"

"I don't think so…" Reika tentatively answered him as she turned to her front. After a moment's silence, she added in with a note of delight "But then again, I don't think there **are **any more streetlights on this road. In fact, this isn't a road at all. Take a look at that!"

Osamu turned in the direction she was pointing and saw why Reika sounded so pleased. The two of them were facing a very large four-story building. It went on for hundreds of yards in either direction. In fact, it was much too large to be a mere building; it was a foundation. Osamu and Reika were about three hundred feet away from it. The area between them was composed almost entirely of a vast parking lot.

They had arrived at the mall.

Reika smirked and turned to Osamu. She remarked cockily "How do you like that? Up until now, we were trying our hardest to find the mall, and we had no luck. Yet right when we started focusing on something totally different, we stumble right upon it."

"That seems to happen a lot these days," Osamu cheekily commented. He stepped forward and looked the foundation over. Then he stated "Should we investigate?"

"I'm all for it!" Reika cheerily replied, "Come on, let's run!"

At that, Reika took off running through the parking lot. At first, Osamu thought about stopping her, but then he realized that while the parking lot was out in the open, it was covered in darkness. In fact, he thought it would probably be better if they crossed it as quickly as possible. After a moment, he just scoffed and hurried after her.

It took them about a minute to cross the parking lot. Even though Osamu started running later, he got to the other side before Reika. When she reached him, she smiled and said "Guess you were even more eager than I was to get here."

"Maybe," he admitted, "What's got you so excited all of a sudden?"

"We've been out on the streets for hours," Reika explained, "It's a relief to finally find some shelter after all that."

Osamu scoffed again and said "Makes sense to me. Let's see if we can find the front entrance."

They fumbled in the dark for a few minutes before they came across a set of glass doors. They were locked up tight, but there was no alarm. Getting inside would be simple enough. All they had to do was pick the lock. Osamu managed this easily enough with his Swiss army knife. Once he heard the latch go "click," he pulled the door open. He turned to Reika and told her with a sly smirk "Ladies first."

Reika blushed and stepped inside; Osamu followed her close behind, shutting the door behind him.

The front room was massive. There were shops and kiosks all over the place, all of which were closed down tight. Osamu and Reika briefly looked over the front room, and confirmed that it was deserted. They saw no need to search the entire first floor; they felt doing so would just have been a waste of their time. So after they concluded the front room was empty, they decided to move on.

The two of them got to the faculty staircase near the end of the room and made their way up to the second floor. From there, they headed towards the northern departments. When they got there, they began looking through the stores. They were hoping to find some windows at the very back of the room. To their disappointment, the first three stores did not even have one window.

However, the fourth store they searched through – a clothing department – gave them much more desirable results. They found plenty of windows on the far wall of the store. These windows were very large. They extended all the way from the ceiling to the floor, and virtually the entire wall was covered with them.

Osamu and Reika approached the windows and peered out of them. They could faintly make out a vast space of grassland in front of them. Reika turned to her map and remarked as she looked it over "According to this, the city limits are directly along the northern side of the mall. All that space out there is located outside the city."

"That means that the fence should be directly below us," Osamu reasoned.

To confirm this theory, the two of them stepped up to the windows and gazed straight down. Sure enough, the fence was less than a half dozen feet away from the mall's exterior wall. Osamu and Reika looked both to the right and the left. The nearest watchtower was at least two hundred feet away. That was far enough so that anything that happened around the section where Osamu and Reika were would virtually go unnoticed by the border guards.

"Looks like it's a clear and secluded drop to the other side," Osamu noted, "If we break the windows and jump far enough, we can make it across the fence without tipping off the soldiers."

"Great plan," Reika remarked in a slightly sarcastic tone, "Only one problem. That's at least a forty-foot descent. If we were jumping into water, we might survive that fall. But flat land? I don't think so. No, we'll need something to ease the impact of the fall."

"You're right," Osamu nodded his head. He leaned against the wall and rubbed his chin with his hand. After about a minute of thinking, he told Reika "We passed quite a few stores on the way here. I'm certain we'd be able to find something useful in one of them."

"Like what?" she asked.

He shrugged and replied "No idea. But let's take a look anyway. There's no telling what we may find."

Reika agreed to this suggestion. The two of them left the clothing department and began browsing through the other shops on the second floor. There was nothing particularly useful in the northern section. They came across a video game store, a toy store, a shoe store, a music store, a home improvement store, a food court, at least three sporting goods stores, and several others. Nothing looked the least bit promising.

However, after they crossed the walkway to get to the southern departments, they came across a furniture store.

"Let's take a look in there," Reika proposed.

The two of them went inside the store and took a look around the place. It was by far the largest shop they had come across so far. They found a variety of chairs, couches, lamps, tables, accessories, and other furniture. However, they encountered their most interesting find near the back of the store. There, they found rows and rows of plain white mattresses piled up high. There had to have been over a hundred and fifty of them altogether.

"Looks like they were having a sale on beds before the evacuation," Osamu hypothesized, "That, or this city has more lovers than Paris, France."

Reika sniggered at this little joke. Then she stated "You know, these mattresses give me an idea. Maybe you and I could use them…"

"Oh, Reika, you naughty girl…" Osamu leered.

At this, Reika burst out laughing. Osamu joined her after a few seconds with some polite chuckling. When they finally stopped, Reika commented "Good one, Osamu."

"Thanks," Osamu drily remarked. He returned to his normally serious mode and asked her "But getting back to business, what do you have in mind?"

"Think about it," she advised him, "A forty-foot fall would most likely kill us if we landed on rough ground. But if we were to throw a bunch of mattresses out first and **then **jump out, don't you think our chances of surviving would be better?"

"I think our chances would be **monumentally **better," Osamu answered her, "That's a simple yet exceptionally brilliant strategy. I can't believe I didn't think of that first. I probably wouldn't have if you hadn't suggested it. Damn… I'm really glad you're with me, Reika."

Reika stepped up to her Boss, took his free hand in her own, and told him "I'm glad you're with me, too, Osamu."

Then she kissed him on the cheek. He turned to her and grinned widely. Then he pulled Reika close, shut his eyes, and kissed her on the lips. She closed her eyes as well and savored the moment. The two of them had gotten very close in the time since the game began. They had gone from gang associates to nearly paramours in less than one day.

The desire to give into their urges was very tempting. But for their sake, they managed to have some self-restraint. When they came apart, Reika looked Osamu in the eyes and told him "We'll have time for this stuff later. For now, we have more pressing matters to attend to."

"I agree," stated Osamu. He turned to the mattresses, approached the nearest one, and stated as he picked it up on one end, "Let's move some of these mattresses to the clothing department. I think we'd only really need a few, but it never hurts to overestimate in things like this. So I'd say a dozen or so ought to do it. Once we've got enough… we can talk."

"Sounds alright to me," Reika told him as she went to pick up the other end of the mattress, "I can think of plenty of things we can do. Some of them don't even require much talking. A few also involve one of **these** things."

A devious grin came across Osamu's face when he heard that. It stayed on his face long after he and Reika began moving the first mattress out of the store.

…

There are many forms of self-abuse. Many of them involve the usage of harmful substances such as alcohol, drugs, and tobacco. Being under the influence of these materials could seriously affect a person's overall well-being in many different ways. However, none of them are as serious as the ultimate form of self-abuse: suicide.

If a person was to fall victim to any other form of self-abuse, they would still have a chance to recover from it afterwards. They could be cured of any dirty habit, addiction, and disorder if they are treated properly and quickly enough.

Suicide, on the other hand, has no treatment. Once it is done, it cannot be undone. That is the primary reason why taking one's own life is such a controversial topic in both ethical and moral regards. This is also why people who often attempt to kill themselves but fail are monitored very carefully afterwards. Their family, friends, and even rulers take steps to ensure they never try such a thing ever again.

The concept of suicide had greatly occurred to Daisuke Araki. He had plenty of reasons for wanting to consider it. For one thing, they had run out of morphine almost an hour earlier. The last injection was already starting to wear off, and the pain was more intense than ever.

Daisuke's fever had only gotten worse in that time. His skin had turned clammy, his eyes were bloodshot, and his face, hair, and chest were very moist with perspiration. He was also much hotter to the touch; so hot that Naozumi Matsuno could not even bring his hand close to Daisuke's forehead without burning it.

Under normal circumstances, his fever would not have gotten so worse in such little time. However, the damage he had acquired earlier had caused his fever to accelerate exponentially. On that subject, he was facing another whole set of problems. The infection around his bullet wound had caused his health to deteriorate even further. It had already started spreading to more of his veins. The pain was so intense that Daisuke could barely even move.

When Naozumi offered to get him a new bandage, Daisuke promptly refused, arguing that it would be a waste of time and available resources. Naozumi agreed that he had a good point. After all, the wound in Daisuke's chest had been sewn up tight; it was in no danger of bursting or reopening. Plus, a bandage would have done nothing to help his fever or infection.

Aside from that, Daisuke did not feel that he deserved any more treatment for his wounds. He did not want any, either. By this point, he had convinced himself that he actually was entirely responsible for Tsukasa's death. Certainly, he and Tsukasa had not been on good terms with each other, but Tsukasa was still a human being. Yet since Daisuke had been so immature and juvenile as to tease him over such a trivial matter, Tsukasa had been gunned down like an animal. Daisuke hated himself for this.

He also thought about Shuuichi and Kenzou. The two of them had gone out to search the fire department ahead of time to confirm it as secure. The only reason they had done that in the first place was because of Daisuke's inability to walk. They would have needed a clear path in order to transport him safely across the city.

Now he had no idea what may have happened to the two of them. They could have run into any one of a number of complications along the way, a player being the most likely of them. Plus, Shuuichi had given Daisuke some of his own blood to stabilize his well-being. With the exception of a little dizziness, Shuuichi had claimed that he was fine. However, the way Daisuke saw it, those two pints of blood may have been the difference between his life… and Shuuichi's. And in a way, Kenzou's, as well. Daisuke now believed that if anything happened to either of them, it would have been his fault, too.

His physical anguish mixed with his guilty conscience had left Daisuke in a very unstable frame of mind. All this pressure made him feel helpless and deplorable. All he wanted to do was end the pain and avoid playing a part in any more of his friends' deaths. From his view, there was only one way he could do this and still emerge from the situation with any honor at all. He would have to take his own life.

However, given the scenario, he was in no position to take any action towards such a goal. Naozumi had taken charge of all their weapons and supplies. Also, Daisuke barely had the strength to move a single muscle without feeling extreme discomfort. Basically, he could not do anything on his own in his current state.

That did not mean he would give up. He was determined to somehow find a way. He thought every possible method over in his head. However, all of them would involve getting up and moving on his own. His options were even more limited than he thought.

Then he turned to his left. Naozumi was busy taking inventory of their medical supplies from the first aid kit. Daisuke gazed at him for a few seconds. A light smirk soon came across his face. He realized that the answer to his problem was sitting directly by his side.

"Naozumi, can I ask you something?" Daisuke asked his best friend.

The larger boy looked up from his work and replied with "Sure. What's up?"

"You remember that article we read about modern controversies?" queried Daisuke.

"As shocking as it was to read, I do remember virtually all of it," Naozumi answered, "Whoever would have thought that there were so many different views of premarital sex, abortion, and other such issues that they would lead to a social uproar?"

"To be honest, I wasn't that surprised," Daisuke admitted, "But there was one subject that I think would be somewhat relevant to us right now."

"What might that be?" asked Naozumi.

"Euthanasia," Daisuke enlightened him, "What do you remember of that one?"

"Not much; only that it's pretty much the civilized term for 'assisted suicide,'" Naozumi recalled, "Oh, and Hina came up with a rather amusing pun about it. I believe it was along the lines of 'If you hate spending your adulthood on another continent, you should have your **youth in Asia**.'"

Naozumi scoffed and stated "Get it? Youth in Asia, Euthanasia? Pretty clever, right?"

Daisuke lightly snickered and said "That is… really funny."

Naozumi nodded his head. Then he inquired "Why do you ask, anyway? How exactly does euthanasia fit into all this?"

Daisuke did not respond immediately. He knew there would be no easy way to explain his plan to Naozumi. He had to find a way to elucidate his intentions discreetly and cautiously.

"Nao, how far would you go to help me?" Daisuke enquired.

Naozumi raised an eyebrow and stated in confusion "Is that a serious question, Dai? I've been looking out for you all day long. I'll keep doing that for as long as I'm still breathing."

Daisuke smiled at him regretfully and told him "I'm very grateful to hear you say that. But I want to know; what if I stop breathing before you do?"

Naozumi did not answer straight away. After a few seconds, he said "I'd rather not think about that possibility."

"Well, you're going to have to," Daisuke pointed out, "I have a feeling I won't be around much longer."

"Don't say that!" Naozumi urged him, "I know you're in a lot of pain, but you can still pull through. Look at all we've been through so far. We should-"

"Perhaps I should rephrase that," Daisuke interrupted him, "I don't have any **plans** to be around here much longer. In fact, I don't even **want **to be in this game anymore."

"None of us do," Naozumi commented, "I think I can speak for all our classmates when I say that none of us want to be here. Except maybe Maki. She's the only one I think could possibly enjoy this thing. Everyone else… definitely not. We can all relate to your desire to go home."

"You misunderstand," Daisuke enlightened his friend, "I wasn't saying I wanted to **survive** this thing."

Naozumi froze when he heard this. He was almost certain he had just misheard his best friend. There was no way he could have suggested that he actually wanted to give up on his chances. If so, he would be giving up on life altogether.

Daisuke could tell what was on his best friend's mind. He thought aloud "I want to die, Naozumi. That much I am certain of."

"So you want to kill yourself?" Naozumi uttered in shock.

"No, I'm much too weak to do any such thing," Daisuke clarified, "Suicide is not an option for me. At least not the traditional form of it. Euthanasia, on the other hand, is still available. I've got someone who can help me get this done."

Naozumi felt his breath leave him when he heard these words. He whispered "You… have to be joking. Please tell me you're kidding. You… want me to… to… kill you? That has to be the most insane thing you've ever asked me to do."

"I know it is, but that doesn't change the fact that I want you to do it," Daisuke told his best friend.

Before Naozumi had a chance to respond, Daisuke told him "I know how this must sound, Naozumi. You must think I'm delusional, lightheaded, or downright crazy. You have every right to think that way. But I want you to understand my feelings; hear my side of this before you draw any conclusions."

Naozumi was still a little shaken, but he was willing to listen to what his friend had to say. He leaned back into the couch and quietly told him "Go ahead."

"Right now, I'm under so much pain," Daisuke began, "This level of pain is unbearable. It only gets worse if I move. The slightest twitch I make leaves me with a multitude of aches. The only thing it doesn't hurt to move is my mouth. That's how I'm able to talk to you clearly. But I can't even lift my arm to scratch my nose. It's like a test in torture, that's how bad it is. It's only getting worse as time goes by. We don't have anything to ease my sufferings. Aside from that, how could we possibly treat both an infection and a fever at the same time? If I drank enough fluids, I would have a **chance** of keeping the fever at bay. But this infection in my veins is a far more serious thing. We'd need antibiotics and other drugs to treat it. You and I both know that there's nothing other than some ibuprofen and aspirin in the first aid kit and this apartment. Even if we did have them on hand, he wouldn't know anything about the proper dosage or method of administering them. After all, Kenzou was the only one with medical training, and he didn't leave us any instructions on how to handle this sort of thing. Without him, we're pretty much lost on how to proceed. There's nothing more we can do to stop the pain. I have no reason to believe it will get any better over time. If anything, it will only get worse. If you were feeling what I'm feeling right now, I can guarantee you that you would give **anything **to make the pain go away. I certainly would."

Daisuke paused here for a moment to let everything he had told Naozumi sink in. Then he continued with: "You should know that there is more to this than just my tolerance for pain. Even if I didn't have all this pain… I couldn't live with myself knowing that I was responsible for another person's death. I know I didn't even like Tsukasa, but his blood is on my hands. I should never have made fun of him for mixing up the revolution in that musical. It was a stupid topic that didn't even deserve arguing over. In addition to this, Kenzou and Shuuichi are out there, risking their lives so that we would have a chance to make it across the city. If anything was to happen to either of them, I'd be to blame for that, too. Sure, I've never harmed anyone, and I certainly haven't killed anyone, but I can't handle that sort of guilt. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"I… I suppose say," Naozumi answered, "But Daisuke… you've got to understand that I could never kill you. No matter what, I could never do such a thing."

"Even when I'm virtually begging you to do it?" Daisuke assumed.

"Absolutely," said Naozumi, "You're my best friend in the world. What kind of man kills those closest to him? I'm amazed you could even suggest that."

"I understand your view on this issue," stated Daisuke, "But let me make one more speech. Hear me out first; then decide for yourself if I'm crazy or if I'm legit."

Naozumi hesitated at first. Then he sighed, nodded, and said reluctantly "Alright. Go on."

"In the time since this morning, I've thoroughly analyzed this scenario," Daisuke enlightened him, "When the game started, I was foolish enough to think that we could actually survive this game. It's only now that I realized we were condemned to die from the very beginning. Only one of us will walk out of this thing alive. Actually, maybe two. But I have no reason to believe that either of us will be one of those two. You at least have a reasonable opportunity. Even without weapons, you might be able to get by on your strength. But look at me. I'm under tremendous pain, my conscience is far from clear, and I've lost any particularly compelling reason to stay alive. My only option left is to die by my own hand. The problem with that is that I can hardly even **move **my hand. So somebody else is going to have to do it. Naturally, that 'somebody' would have to be you. Not only because you're the only person with me, but also because I wouldn't want anyone else to do it."

"You make it sound so easy," Naozumi cut in with a note of apprehension in his voice, "You talk about killing a human begin as if it's something as simple as killing a mosquito."

"It's not my intent to come off like that," Daisuke assured him, "My point is this: there was a time when suicide was not frowned upon in this country. In fact, it was once considered to be an honor to go down that way. Centuries ago, whenever a soldier had been mortally wounded, rendered incapable of continuing to fight, or committed an unforgivable act, he committed seppuku so that he would still die with honor. Often, one of his associates stood by to cut off his head after he stabbed himself in the stomach. This was done to help him ease the suffering. I'm not asking you to decapitate me with a sword or gut me in the abdomen, Naozumi. All I'm asking is for you to let me die in peace. Please… I beg of you… just let me die. Let me die with the little dignity and self-respect I still have."

Naozumi had never had so many mixed feelings in his life as he did at this time. In the past, Daisuke had always been there for him. He had looked out for him and cared for him as if he was his own brother. Now Daisuke wanted him to return the favor by bringing about his death. That felt so wrong to Naozumi in so many different ways.

However, he brought himself to see the matter from Daisuke's point of view. He wondered how he would behave if he had been through all the turmoil Daisuke had been through. When he thought about it, Naozumi realized that death probably was not the worst possible thing that could happen to a person. In actuality, the very worst possible thing was an indefinitely long period of misery and suffering, and then death right after. Truthfully, Naozumi had secretly began doubting that Daisuke would actually pull through, but he had kept these thoughts to himself so that his best friend would not think he had given up on him. Naozumi would have hated it if his friend's last moments were spent in even worse pain than the pain he was already in.

After almost ten minutes of silent contemplation, Naozumi turned to Daisuke and asked him "Are you sure... and I mean, absolutely, positively, without-a-doubt sure that this is what you want?"

With great difficulty, Daisuke nodded his head and softly told him "Please… just do this for me."

The two of them shared over a minute of eye contact with each other. Neither of them spoke a word in that whole minute. Then Naozumi slowly nodded his head. A tear came to his eye as he said "Okay. I'll… I'll do it. Only because you want me to… and because I can't stand to see you suffer."

Daisuke smiled at his friend and told him "You really are the best friend anyone could ever hope for."

"Thank you," Naozumi softly responded. He wiped his eye and asked "So, what… what do you want me to do?"

"I want you to hold me down with one arm," Daisuke instructed him slowly, "Then… I want you to cover my nose and mouth with your other hand. No matter what I try to do or say… do not let go. I'll probably spasm or twitch, but ignore that. Do not let me go until about a minute after I stop moving."

"I understand," Naozumi told him, "When should I do it?"

"Right now," Daisuke answered straightforwardly, "The sooner, the better."

"Alright, just… just give me a moment," Naozumi requested.

"Take as long as you need," Daisuke told him, "Don't tell me whenever you're ready. Just do it. It'll probably go by faster if I don't see it coming."

Naozumi agreed.

The next five minutes were spent in complete silence. Daisuke and Naozumi barely even moved a muscle in all that time. There was a painfully unpleasant atmosphere in the room.

Then, Naozumi moved in. He threw his left arm over Daisuke's arms and chest to pin him down. Then he placed his right hand over his nose and mouth. He plugged them both up and held onto them tight. He took Daisuke quite by surprise, but the wounded boy did nothing to fight what was happening.

More tears started forming underneath Naozumi's eyes. But he held on tight to his friend's body and face, determined to carry out his wish.

After about thirty seconds, Daisuke's hands and feet began twitching. His eyes shot wide open as if they were on the verge of popping out of his head. These were more involuntary reactions than anything else; he had no control over them. He also found his lungs desperately pleading to get a fresh breath of oxygen. But he was not going to give in to this desire. If he put up a struggle, he would only make it even worse on himself. He wanted to put all his grief, all his torment, and all his distress away for good.

About forty-five seconds later, Daisuke stopped twitching. His eyelids gradually slid shut and he eased down onto the bed. His hands and feet were no longer twitching anymore. Naozumi continued holding his nose and mouth for a little while longer.

Finally, he let go of him. He backed up slightly and took a good long moment to study Daisuke. Once he was finished looking him over, Naozumi lowered his head in sadness and respect. Tears were now freely flowing from his eyes. Naozumi covered his face with his hands and wept in sorrow. He had ended his best friend's suffering, but there no doubt in his mind that he had also ended everything else about his best friend.

Daisuke had been first at many different things throughout his life. The most notable was how he was always first in his class's roll call. At that moment, he became the first ever person to be a willing victim of a mercy killing in the Program.

…

Toshirou Oosaki (Boy #5) and Gakuto Yamashita (Boy #21) had been busy in the past few hours. They were concentrating their best efforts on accomplishing their previously established objectives. While they had been spending their time productively, they had not managed to get very much work done. This was primarily because they had encountered a number of difficulties that impeded their progress.

Fortunately, the two of them had travelled across the city in a much more efficient manner than Osamu Sano and Reika Fujihara. They had been able to move at a quicker pace while being just as cautious and discreet. It had taken them just a half-hour to reach the police station at the northern border of D-5.

However, they were very peeved to discover that Teru was not on the roof. All they found there was his backpack, a laptop, some Java books, a harpoon wrapped in aluminum foil hooked up to a CD burner, a hundred meters' worth of conjoined cables, and a makeshift wooden apparatus. However, there was no sign of Teru, his harpoon rifle, or his supply pack.

Gakuto and Toshirou were not going to give up just yet. They searched the entire building to make certain Teru was not there. They ultimately found no indication that anyone had been inside any part of the station all day except for the lobby and the stairwell. They even looked out of the windows in the back room to see if Teru's body was in the alley. It was not.

"What should we do now?" Toshirou asked in slight annoyance.

"Let's go back up to the roof," Gakuto suggested, "We might find something useful if we search through his supplies."

"Okay," Toshirou agreed.

The two of them went over to the stairwell and took it up to the roof. Then they went straight to investigating. Toshirou looked through the contents of Teru's backpack while Gakuto examined the files on the laptop. The streetlights below did not go as high as the roof, and they were not willing to risk using their flashlights just yet. Therefore, their only source of light was the computer screen. It was a little hard for Toshirou to work with such little light, but he managed all the same.

After about five minutes, Toshirou inquired "Anything on his computer?"

"A lot of Java programs are open," Gakuto responded as he browsed through several different documents, "But it would appear that all of them are just basic syntax and formulas. I'm guessing Teru only had those up to use them as guidelines for modifying his disruption code. There's no sign of the code itself"

"You don't think it's been erased, do you?" Toshirou said in uneasiness.

"I don't think so," stated Gakuto, "When we spoke to Teru this morning, he told us that he had a copy of his code on a flash drive. There's no sign of the flash drive here, so he must have taken it with him."

"That's a good theory," commented Toshirou as he continued searching through the backpack. He had found nothing particularly helpful so far. Then he noticed a notebook at the bottom. It had been opened up to a particular page. He took out the notebook and looked the page over.

"You having any better luck than I am?" Gakuto queried exasperatedly.

"Hard to say," Toshirou acknowledged, "I can't find any flash drives either. I guess he really did take that thing with him."

"Believe me, I'm **certain **he did," said Gakuto, "Knowing how serious Teru was taking this thing, I've no doubt that he'd want to have something as invaluable as that code with him at all times. Of course, this information would be a lot more useful if we had some idea **where** he was when he died. But we don't."

"Oh, don't be too sure about that," Toshirou countered, turning towards his friend. He then approached him and held out the notebook, saying "Gakuto, take a look at this."

Gakuto turned away to the computer and looked down at the notebook. The contents of the page where somewhat difficult to make out in the dark, so he had Toshirou hold it closer to the computer screen to get a better look.

On the particular page the notebook had been opened to, the following fourteen phrases were vertically listed in large characters from top to bottom: "Gather Supplies From Computer Store," "Gather Lumber From Carpentry Shop," "Slice Into Loudspeaker Network," "Broadcast Distraction," "Set Up Foundation For Rifle," "Charge Harpoon," "Connect Cables," "Rewrite Disruption Code," "Gather Materials For Back-Up Plan," "Use Code On School," "Get Back Into Loudspeaker Network," "Gather Everyone Together," "Take Over School/Burn School With Back-Up Materials," "Work Out Escape Plan," and "Escape."

The first eight had been crossed out, but not the last seven.

"Looks like he made himself a schedule," Toshirou speculated, "He must have organized his objectives in the order he intended to accomplish them."

"I think you're right," Gakuto agreed, "Notice that the last one he crossed out is 'Rewrite Disruption Code.'"

"At least we know now that he managed to complete his work on the code," Toshirou noted, "It's a shame he didn't just go ahead and use it against the school when he finished. I wonder why he didn't."

"He must have had his reasons," Gakuto theorized, looking the list over, "According to this, he was in the midst of 'Gather Materials For Back-Up Plan' when he died."

"So that must be why he isn't here," Toshirou reasoned, "He must have left the building in order to get more supplies. Damn shame he didn't write where he was going. He could be anywhere in the city."

"I think I may have an idea," stated Gakuto, pointing further down the page, "Look right here at the phrase with the slash in it. It says 'Take Over School/Burn School With Back-Up Materials. He must have gone after some flammable goods."

Toshirou then smirked and thought aloud "Looks like that narrows down 'anywhere' to only a few possible places. In fact, there's only one particular place I have in mind."

Toshirou then put down the notebook, gathered his bags, and stood up straight. He held out his hand to his friend and told him "Come on, Gakuto. We're going to the gas station."

"The gas station?" repeated Gakuto in mild confusion, "Why?"

"From what I can tell, the only two places in the city that have materials capable of burning down a building are chemical storage and the gas station," Toshirou explained, "However, while Teru was a genius at computer programming, acting, and some forms of engineering, his experience in chemistry was not as broad as yours or mine. It would have been a hassle for him to transport anything especially flammable out of that building, even without the proper safety equipment. Plus, he probably would not have even known what chemicals would be the most qualified to commit arson. On the other hand, everyone knows how effective gasoline is at burning things down."

Gakuto realized that Toshirou was making some very valid points. At the very least, he had found a good lead as to where Teru's body may have been. However, it occurred to him that there was no firm evidence that Teru actually went to the gas station, and even if he had, he could have died on the way there. All the same, he was not going to draw any conclusions without investigating.

"Alright, let's go check it out," Gakuto decided. He shut the laptop, gathered up his gear, took Toshirou's hand, and allowed him to pull him to his feet. Once they were both standing up straight, he said "Let's roll."

They had left the police station shortly before nine o'clock. The carpentry shop and the gas station were equally far away from the police station. However, it took Gakuto and Toshirou longer to get to the gas station, as they had to take a detour to avoid one of the most recent danger zones.

At around 9:35, they arrived in F-4. As they got closer to the gas station, Toshirou remarked "It's getting a lot harder to see out here. I'm guessing the streetlights aren't as bright in this part of the city. I think we should go ahead and get out our flashlights. If it gets much darker, we'll be needing a stronger source of light."

He half-expected Gakuto to shoot down this suggestion, but instead, he unzipped his supply pack, dug out his flashlight, and stated "Why not? That's what these things are for, anyway. We may as well use them."

Toshirou smirked and took out his own flashlight. "Glad we agree on this."

Both boys pointed their flashlights forward, flicked them on, and proceeded through the streets.

About ten minutes later, Toshirou looked down at his map and announced "The gas station should be directly in front of us."

Gakuto pointed his flashlight a little higher and shined the beam across a large sign. It had a symbol of a large gasoline can in the center of it. He turned to Gakuto and told him "You're right. There it is."

As they got closer, Toshirou sniffed the air and said in disgust "You smell that? It smells like ash and petroleum. And… something else. But I'm not sure what."

Gakuto took a whiff of the air and gave a sickened cough, "I smell it alright. It's like something's been rotting around here for hours."

"Maybe we should secure the area first," Toshirou recommended.

"Alright," Gakuto accepted, "I'll check the alleys; you see if there's anything around the shop itself."

Toshirou nodded his head. The two of them separated at the middle of the street and went to work searching the vicinity. The first thing Toshirou inspected was a car parked at one of the gas terminals. It looked strangely familiar to him. At the same time, Gakuto checked out the alley across the street. There was a phone booth and a few bags of garbage that appeared to have been heavily damaged. To him, that implied that a struggle may have gone down in the area. He took that as a sign.

"Remember to stay on your guard, Toshirou," Gakuto called over his shoulder, pulling his revolver out of his belt, "This place may be abandoned, but there's no telling when someone else may stumble across it"

"I've been on my guard all damn day," Toshirou assured his friend, looking over the car, "Believe me, Gakuto; I'm prepared for whatever comes our way. I don't think anything could surprise me at this point."

After he looked over the garbage bags and the phone booth, Gakuto noticed a very small light emanating from a ground. He kneeled down to get a closer look, and realized that the light was giving off a bit of heat. He then discovered that the light was actually a very small flame. But that was not the most noteworthy thing about it. There was a huge mass on the ground next to the flame.

As Gakuto went to work examining the mass on the ground, Toshirou had just finished looking over the vehicle. He scoffed in amusement and stated "Then again, I could be wrong."

"About what?" Gakuto asked without looking up.

"About not being surprised," Toshirou clarified, "Take a look at this. It's the Highlander."

Gakuto looked up and saw Toshirou flashing his light over the side of the car. The vehicle was a wreck. It was so badly seared that it appeared as though it had been baking in a furnace for hours.

"That thing looks like it's been through hell," Gakuto drily commented.

"That's not a bad guess," Toshirou remarked, sticking his flashlight in through the broken window in the back, "There's got to be at least eight gas cans in here. There may be more, but they've been blown to pieces. There's soot and debris all over the place. No doubt about it; this thing was set on fire."

"That may have been the source of that explosion we heard this afternoon," Gakuto theorized, "Obviously we won't be able to drive it anymore. Is there anything salvageable in there?"

"Nothing that I can see," Toshirou bluntly replied, "Everything's messed up pretty badly. Just a bunch of useless junk now. This would explain those odors of ash and petroleum. Still can't make out that third one, though. Say, wait a moment… I just thought of something. If the car's parked here… that must mean that our friends are somewhere around here, too."

"They are," Gakuto announced to him, "Take a look at this."

Toshirou turned around and saw that Gakuto was pointing his flashlight directly towards the mass on the ground. The mass turned out to be a body, and Gakuto was shining the beam on the person's face.

"It's Kazumitsu," Gakuto informed his friend, "He's been shot in the head."

"Really?" Toshirou remarked in surprise, "By what?"

"I have no idea," Gakuto admitted, shining his flashlight around the area, "He's got powder burns on his temple, so he must have been shot at pointblank range. But I don't see any bullet casings."

"Whoever killed him may have collected them," Toshirou hypothesized.

"Yeah, but they doesn't explain why they didn't even bother to take the time to deactivate his flamethrower," Gakuto pointed out.

"Maybe they didn't think it was that important," said Toshirou, "At any rate, we've found Kazumitsu, but where do you suppose Kaminari is?"

Gakuto merely shrugged and continued examining Kazumitsu's remains, saying "I think the door to the gas station is open. Maybe her body's in there."

"I'll go check it out," Toshirou announced. He walked around the car, turned to the gas station, and went inside. It took him about three minutes to search the entire store. During those three minutes, Gakuto busied himself by searching Kazumitsu.

One thing that struck him as odd was that Kazumitsu had a pencil behind his ear. That suggested he had been writing on something shortly before he died. When searched Kazumitsu's jacket, he found a folded piece of paper inside it.

Gakuto made a note to check the paper out later at a more convenient time. Just as he slipped it into his own jacket, Toshirou stepped back outside and informed him "Nope, she's not in there."

"Well, she has to be around here somewhere," Gakuto debated, standing up straight again.

As Toshirou walked back around the car, he pointed his flashlight in a different direction every few seconds. He thought aloud "If we look hard enough, we should be able to-"

Before he could finish his sentence, he tripped over something lying next to the car. He staggered in the street for a few seconds, but managed to maintain his balance.

"Woah, you really need to watch your step, Toshirou," Gakuto said in amusement.

"Oh, screw you, Gakuto," Toshirou jokily retorted. He turned to the object he had tripped over. He could barely make it out in the dark, so he shined his flashlight over it. Immediately after, he jumped back against the car and shouted at the top of his voice "HOLY SHIT!"

"Shhhhhhhh!" Gakuto admonished him, an expression of scorn across his countenance, "What are you trying to do? You want to draw every player within a three-mile radius down on us?"

"Of course I wouldn't want that," Toshirou edgily replied, keeping his back to the Highlander. Gakuto got a good look at Toshirou's face and saw that he was horrified by something. Before he could ask, Toshirou pointed towards the object in front of him and stated "At the very least, I definitely don't want to meet whoever did **this**."

Gakuto raised an eyebrow and walked over to his friend. He looked down at the object on the ground and shined his flashlight down on it. He immediately regretted it after. He quickly pulled away his flashlight and quietly uttered "Is that…?"

Toshirou merely nodded and whispered in terror "It's Kaminari."

How Toshirou managed to recognize Kaminari is something of a mystery. Her body was so badly burnt and blackened that at first glance, it appeared to be nothing more than a huge lump of human-shaped charcoal.

Toshirou and Gakuto both wished they could somehow un-see what they had just seen. But it was far too late for that; the image of Kaminari's singed remnants were imbedded into their heads.

"What kind of sick fuck could have done this?" Toshirou uttered in shock.

"The same kind of sick fuck who's been playing this game to win," a new voice answered him.

This snapped Gakuto and Toshirou back to attention. Gakuto held up his revolver and called out "Who's there?"

"Over here," the voice calmly replied.

Toshirou and Gakuto swerved around towards the source of the voice and saw Yuuga Suzuki (Boy #11) walking out of the alleyway down the street. He had his flashlight in one hand and his handgun in the other. However, he was holding both of his arms up, as if he was trying to display a gesture of goodwill towards his two classmates.

"Yuuga?" stated Gakuto, gripping his revolver in case of trouble "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you and Toshirou the same thing, Gakuto," Yuuga admitted, keeping his hands raised.

"We're looking for… a body," Toshirou candidly answered him.

"I can see that," said the empathic boy, "I'd say you're doing a fine job of that; you've already found two."

"No, a different body," Gakuto clarified, "And put your hands down already. You look goddamn ridiculous like that."

"Thank you for telling me," Yuuga sarcastically remarked. There was a moment of silence. Then Yuuga inquired "The body you're looking for wouldn't happen to be Teru's, would it?"

Toshirou and Gakuto both felt their eyes go wide and their jaws drop open.

"How the hell did you know that?" Toshirou demanded.

"Because we're looking for it, too," Yuuga answered him.

"'We?'" noted Gakuto.

Yuuga looked around and noticed that he was alone. "Oh, right. Hold on a second."

He turned back into the alley and called out "Hey, I think it's safe to come out now!"

"If you say so," stated Chiaki Iwasaki (Girl #4), as she stepped out of the alley and stood next to Yuuga. She looked at her two male classmates. She was a little amused by how stunned they appeared to be. She nonchalantly asked them "What's up, Gakuto? How are you doing, Toshirou?"

"Ummm, we're fine, Chiaki," Toshirou answered in perplexity.

There was a long interval of silence. The past couple minutes had escalated pretty quickly. Toshirou and Gakuto were still somewhat phased by the sight of Kaminari's remains. However, Yuuga and Chiaki did not appear to be posing any serious or immediate threats to them. In fact, based off of how easily they had gotten into a casual conversation, Gakuto and Toshirou began to feel a little more relaxed.

The two of them turned to each other. They were silently debating whether or not to trust Yuuga and Chiaki. While they preferred to take their time whenever they made such critical decisions, they knew very well that time was not something they had an abundance of the Program. All that really mattered to them was the first impressions of their classmates. Chiaki and Yuuga were being relatively friendly to them, as if they had good intentions. So they decided to take advantage of this opportunity to see if they could make another ally or two.

When Gakuto noticed the weapon Chiaki had slung over her shoulders, he became a little suspicious. He questioned her "Chiaki, is that harpoon rifle what you were given as a weapon?"

"No, it was actually Teru's," the bold girl replied. Then she pulled her iron spearhead out and stated "**This **was my weapon. Not very effectual or contemporary, but still better than nothing."

"How'd you get that rifle?" Toshirou inquired, "We already knew it was Teru's weapon originally, but how could it have ended up so far away from him?"

"We would tell you how we acquired it," Chiaki assured him, "But we don't have time for any explanations right now. We just want to find Teru's body, and we want to find it soon."

"If you're looking for Teru, too, I'd like to know something," stated Gakuto, "What's your interest in him?"

"Same as yours," Yuuga enlightened him, "We want to find his disruption code, too."

"How do you know about the disruption code?" Toshirou demanded.

"Long story," Yuuga answered them, "We'll explain everything we know once we find Teru. But you should probably know, he doesn't have the disruption code with him."

"He doesn't?" Toshirou asked in alarm, "How can you possibly know that?"

"That's part of the long story," was all Yuuga said.

"But if you knew that, why did you come looking for his body anyway?" enquired Gakuto.

"We wanted to see if there was anything his killer left behind that may help us retrieve the disruption code or make our own from scratch," Yuuga honestly replied, "Obviously, the latter of those options is highly unlikely. The former, however, may be possible. We just need to find Teru first."

"Wait, isn't that him over there?" inquired Chiaki, pointing her spearhead down the street.

The three boys turned around and saw that she was pointing at a lamppost about seven meters away. There was a body slouching against the base of the lamppost.

The four of them tentatively approached the body and shined their flashlights at it when they got close enough. They got the answer to Chiaki's question when they did so.

"That's him," Gakuto confirmed, "Looks as though he's been strangled… by a whip."

**Boy #1 Daisuke Araki – Dead**

**24 Students Remaining**


	29. The Value Of Hope

**Note: Once again, thanks to 8bitmatter and Rockythetigre for the reviews.**

**Rockythetigre, I'd like to address some of the points you made. First off, you started your review with "Thanks for answering the questions and sorry if I review this story too much." It's my pleasure to fill in the blanks for you; I'll always answer your questions. However, the latter half of that sentence startled me a bit. You really MUST be new to this website, my friend. You don't EVER have to apologize for reviewing this story. That's like apologizing just for reading it. You see, reviews are something all authors covet and look forward to. I'm friends with some of the other authors on this website, and a few of them would KILL for a review as long as the ones you've given me. However, in the future, I'd prefer it if your reviews were a little more on any thoughts or criticism you may have for the actual chapter and a little less on responding to these messages I leave you. Not that there's anything wrong with your response, but the main purpose of reviewing is to discuss the story's contents, not to converse with the author.**

**However, I'm very grateful that you think this story would make a decent sequel to the original Battle Royale if it ever became an anime. Those kind words mean a lot to me. Oh, and I don't see any need for concern about people getting nightmares or any such thing. After all, Battle Royale is not meant for the faint of heart! Anyone who can stand reading the book or watching the movie should be able to get through an anime based off the manga.**

**Also, using Kaminari's acid on the collars would be a VERY bad idea. I'll clarify why later within the chapter itself.**

**8bitmatter, don't worry; I understand your viewpoint. It's not your fault if you can't think of Blaine as anything less than a near-perfect student. The fault is my own for focusing so much on his talents and so little on his shortcomings. Just to reassure you, Blaine is not infallible. He'll end up making several serious mistakes in the future. And – as you may have noticed – he's already made quite a few, like when he did not shoot Genji in the back of the head at the hotel in Chapter 27 when he had the opportunity.**

**On that note, I'm glad to know that Genji is making your blood boil. That's the effect I was hoping he would have on people. It also won't be long before I bring out his entire backstory. When that happens, you'll see that he's not as indestructible as he appears to be. I'm not necessarily saying he'll be killed off, but I've got another dramatic plot twist prepared for it.**

**I'm also glad you had a positive impression on Yasuko and Mamoru. Their subplot was one of my favorites, even though I wrote it and finished it rather early in this story. You could call it literal poetic justice.**

**By the way, you're not the first person to express annoyance at how "so many girls" are attracted to Blaine. I want to get this out in the open: There are only FOUR girls in the class who are/were interested in Blaine. Two of them were Namiko and Rumi, and the only reason they were interested in him was because he was the first American male they ever met who was about the same age as them. They would have made the same approach towards any other such individual. Also, they didn't really "like" him; they just wanted him to fuck them. As for Tamayo… well, her interest in Blaine was something I came up with last moment. I never really intended for it to go anywhere. So you see, Kiyomi is the only girl in the class who actually likes Blaine in a romantic sense, and she's already with him. Aside from that, she's the only one of the four that's still alive.**

**Alright, onto the chapter!**

Yuriye Sakaguchi (Girl #9) and Tomoe Yamakawa (Girl #21) were relieved to have located each other. However, they still had a lot to get done before they could celebrate their good fortune. Their friends Shizuye Chida, Chiaki Iwasaki, and Yuuga Suzuki were still out in the city. Neither of the girls would allow themselves a moment's rest until those three were found.

After their meet-up at the entrance to the parking garage, the two of them prudently decided to find shelter before they did anything else. So they gathered up their supplies and went into the car wash. They decided to make the place their hideout for the present. After all, it was small, it was secluded, and it was fortifiable. It made an ideal haven.

The girls set themselves up behind the clerk's desk. Once they were settled in, the two of them started discussing various topics. These topics included what they had already been through, what they could be up against, and what they felt needed to be done.

"There's not really much for me to say," Yuriye remarked, "I was staying in the western apartment complex from dawn 'til dusk. The map kept me busy in those twelve long hours. I took most of that time to familiarize myself with the layout of the city and to work out an outline for locating you and the others. Basically, my plan was to methodically search each major foundation until I found you all."

"I admire how much detail and effort you're putting into this plan," commented Tomoe, "However, I think it's a little too time-consuming. If your intent is to only go searching at night, you wouldn't get much done before sunrise. Aside from that, even if the sun stayed down all day tomorrow, you wouldn't have nearly enough time to cover the entire grid. Believe me, this city is much larger than the map makes it out to be."

"How would you know?" queried Yuriye.

"Because I've been all over it," Tomoe informed her, "As soon as I left the school, I started exercising my legs. Rather than spending my time to form a search plan, I decided to go ahead and start searching the city straight away. I certainly covered plenty of ground in that time. I managed to traverse through a significant percentage of the city. I mean, I must have run dozens of miles in the first few hours alone."

"Wow, Tomoe," Yuriye stated in admiration, "You don't seem the least bit tired. How many times did you break to catch a breather?"

"I only stopped once for about forty minutes at four o'clock," Tomoe recalled, "That was mostly to have some bread and water. Other than that, I haven't had anything to eat or drink all day."

"That's impressive, but it's not very good for your health," Yuriye advised her. She turned to her supply pack, opened it up, and pulled out a bottle of water. She held it out to Tomoe and stated "Here, I want you to take this. Drink it all down."

"Yuriye, I have my own supply of water," the track star reminded the petite girl, "There's no need for you to give me some of your share."

"Sure there is," Yuriye argued, "Dehydration can take its toll on anyone after eighteen hours of marathon running, even with breaks. If you want to keep dashing around the city like you've been doing, you'll need plenty of liquids in your system. Besides, my metabolism is slower than yours. I don't need as much water."

Tomoe hesitantly reached out for the water bottle, but stopped just as her hand touched its neck. She looked up at Yuriye and asked her "You're sure about this?"

Yuriye simply scoffed and responded with "Of course I am. Just relax and take it, Tomoe. It's not like it's poisoned or anything."

Yuriye had meant this last statement as a joke. But as soon as she said it, Tomoe appeared to be taken aback. Yuriye quickly realized that her friend may have misinterpreted what she had just told her. She looked down and muttered bleakly "Then again, if you think it is, I can't really blame you for having that suspicion."

"No, no, I'd never suspect you, Yuriye," Tomoe reassured her friend, taking the water bottle willingly, "I'm sorry if I gave you that impression. I was mostly just surprised that you're still able to make jokes about death."

"It's just one of the things I'm doing to cope with the scenario," Yuriye elucidated, "I'm trying to make it seem less tense than it has to be. Besides, you're usually the jolliest of the group. I figured you wouldn't mind."

"When you put it that way, I suppose I don't," said Tomoe. She unscrewed the cap to the water bottle and took a long drink. Then it was about a third empty, she lowered the bottle and swallowed. Then she turned to her friend and told her "Thanks. I didn't realize how thirsty I was."

"You earned it," Yuriye declared to her. She turned back to her supply pack and got out her map and flashlight. Then she turned to Tomoe and asked her "So, which sections of the city have you been through today?"

"I'll tell you in a moment," stated Tomoe. She set the water bottle down, picked up her own supply pack, and got out her own flashlight and map. Then she explained while pointing out certain areas of the city "I spent a good part of the morning along the northern border of the city, mainly the area east of the school. After the morning announcements, I covered the regions west of the school. I searched most of the area along the western border between the noon and evening announcements. Once that was over, I decided to investigate the center of the city next. I was on my way to City Hall when I passed by this place. I probably would have walked right by it had I not seen the beam of your flashlight emanating from the entrance of that garage."

"Good thing you spotted me when you did," Yuriye commented, "I was going to head south once I was done searching this place. That would have been in almost the opposite direction as you."

"I guess we just got lucky," Tomoe hypothesized, "You're the first person I've encountered today that I'm willing to trust."

"What do you mean?" asked Yuriye, "How many other members of the class have you come across?"

"Officially, none," Tomoe replied, "However, I was in close proximity to three different incidents today. This morning, when I was along the northeastern corner of the city, a car drove by me. The headlights were off and it was driving at less than twenty miles per hour. I didn't even notice it until it was less than ten meters away from me."

"Who was in it?" said Yuriye in interest.

"I didn't have time to make out any faces," Tomoe recalled, "Aside from that, nobody in our class has an official license to drive yet. Most don't even have their permits. I have no idea who it could have been."

"That doesn't sound anything to worry about," Yuriye assured her, "Sure, some people may have a faster means of transportation. We could just avoid them if we want to be cautious."

"That's certainly true," remarked Tomoe, "However, there are two other things you should know about. This morning, I heard some heavy gunshots near the northwestern corner of the city. They sounded far away, but that implied that they may have been long-range rounds. This afternoon, when I was near the western border, I actually heard an explosion."

"An explosion?" Yuriye repeated, a little stunned "Are you sure?"

"Yes, very," Tomoe confirmed. She had another swig of water and went on "I think it originated from the gas station. It must have been a big one, because I could actually see smoke and a bright light in the distance."

"Wow, that is **not **a good sign," commented Yuriye, "Not at all. How'd you handle yourself?"

"I did what I do best; I bolted," Tomoe answered bluntly. She added in while gesturing to her rifle, "I didn't even have this out at the time. You see, it came in the form of a kit. I put it together when I stopped up to have my late lunch."

"So you were unarmed for the whole morning and most of the afternoon?" said Yuriye in amazement, holding up her hacksaw, "That's incredible. I've barely taken this thing out of my sight since I left the school. Don't feel very safe without it."

"Until we're out of this place, we shouldn't feel safe at **all**," Tomoe countered, "That brings me to another topic that's been on my mind."

"What might that be?" queried Yuriye.

"I'm willing to bet the others are just as concerned about us as we are about them," Tomoe rationalized "If that's the case, they're probably spending their time looking for us, as well. That goes for all of them: Yuuga, Chiaki, and even Shizuye."

"That's certainly a reasonable assumption," Yuriye concurred, "Tomoe, what exactly are you getting at here?"

"It's simple, Yuriye," Tomoe continued, pausing to take another drink before continuing with "Our friends are most likely out searching for us. If so, we all focusing on the same objective. An objective which intrinsically focuses only on the present. With this in mind, that bids the question: who's thinking about what we do **after **we find each other?"

Yuriye did not answer immediately. She took a moment to think about this point. Then she said "That certainly is a notable concern. Do you believe any of them could be thinking that far ahead?"

"They may be," Tomoe admitted, "But if they're not, then we have a problem. I don't want to stay around in the city any longer than we have to. As soon as we group together with the others, we need to get them and ourselves out of here."

"How do you propose we do that?" queried Yuriye, "The borders of the city are surrounded by fences."

"I know; I've seen them," Tomoe notified her, having another drink of water, "They're at least twenty feet tall, and they're made of electrolyzed barbed wire. What we really have to worry about is the guards. They're only stationed every few hundred feet, but they don't let anything on the ground or air evade their notice. So walking right out isn't an option."

"So we can't go through the fences or over them," Yuriye concluded. She rubbed her chin and tried to think up another alternative. Then she thought aloud "Guess that means we'll have to find a way under them."

"Under it?" stated Tomoe.

"Yeah, maybe there's a tunnel or passage that runs beneath the city," Yuriye theorized, "Only problem is that I have no idea where to even begin to search."

There were a few more minutes of silence. Then Tomoe's eyes lit up, her facial expression brightened, and she said loudly and in elation, "Yuriye, that's it!"

Yuriye hastily shushed her friend. Tomoe grinned and said "Sorry, I just got a little excited."

"About what?" Yuriye inquired.

"Yuriye, when you turn on a sink or a shower, where does the water drain?" Tomoe began easily.

"The sewers," Yuriye answered directly.

"Bingo," Tomoe retorted, "We could use the sewers. They form a type of underground labyrinth that runs all over the city. If we could find a way into them, we could go anywhere in the city we wanted to. We may even find a passage leading out of the city."

"You're putting a lot of that on faith, Tomoe," Yuriye uneasily pointed out.

"I know I am," Tomoe admitted, "But as of right now, that's the best hope of escape we've got."

"If that's the case, I trust your judgment," Yuriye told her, "But I'd feel a little safer if we checked them out first."

"Alright, that's fair enough," Tomoe accepted, "But let's wait until after the midnight announcements to investigate. We may be down there a long time, and I'm pretty certain the army didn't go to the trouble of installing loudspeakers in the sewers. I don't want to miss anything important."

"Understandable," Yuriye concurred, "What should we do until then?"

"What we were doing before this," Tomoe answered. She took one last drink from the water bottle, emptying it. Then she put the empty bottle in her supply pack, closed it up, and got back to her feet. She held her hand out to Yuriye and finished with "We keep looking for the others."

Yuriye shrugged, zipped up her supply pack, took her friend's hand, and allowed her to pull her to her feet. Then she proposed "I was thinking about searching the area north of here next."

"I've already been there," Tomoe enlightened her, "There's nothing of interest up there except for a restaurant, which was where I stopped to break."

"What about further up that way?" asked Yuriye.

"The gas station," Tomoe answered, "On a side note, I think that's also where that explosion originated from."

"I may have heard the explosion, too," Yuriye recounted, "But it was extremely faint; I was in the southwestern corner of the city in the western apartment complex when it happened. The explosion sounded as though it came from that general area."

"Even though it's been hours since that happened, I think we should stay away from the gas station," Tomoe recommended, "Other people could have been drawn to it after the explosion. That includes people who are playing this game. The last thing we need is a deadly encounter."

"I agree," Yuriye told her, "We'll mark the gas station as an unacceptable risk."

Tomoe found this to be a sensible arrangement. The two girls examined their maps and decided they would head to the east next. There were several other large buildings and foundations in that direction, one of which was the supermarket.

Unbeknownst to Tomoe and Yuriye, the gas station was exactly where they wanted to be at this time.

…

"I think you're right," Yuuga Suzuki said to Gakuto Yamashita as they examined Teru Machida's body, "He has definitely been strangled. But what makes you so certain it was a whip?"

"Look at the red marks around his neck," Gakuto pointed out, "They're rough and uneven. Had he been strangled by anything else – such as a rope, a wire, or even a pearl necklace – the marks would have left behind a much smoother pattern. Only a whip could dig into a person's skin this deeply and erratically."

"Then where's the whip?" inquired Toshirou Oosaki, looking all over the area.

"It's got to be around here somewhere," stated Chiaki Iwasaki, "It must be."

"How can you be so sure of that?" Gakuto asked her suspiciously.

"I'm… I'm not," Chiaki claimed casually, "It's just a hunch. A really strong hunch."

"In that case, I'll see if I can find it," Toshirou thought aloud, shining his flashlight around the area, "If it is here, then we can confirm how Teru died."

"We might also get some idea of who killed him," Yuuga theorized, standing up straight. He turned to his classmates and inquired "Do you want any help, Toshirou?"

"No, I think I've got it," Toshirou responded, "After all, this area isn't too large. If there's anything out of place here, I'll find it."

"You do that," Gakuto remarked flatly as he turned back to the gas station, "In the meantime, I'm going to take another look at this scene. I'll see if I can determine what exactly happened here."

"You mind if I help?" offered Yuuga.

"Be my guest," was all Gakuto said, "Maybe you'll notice something I won't. Or can't."

Yuuga shrugged and remarked "Perhaps I will."

The two of them went to work looking over the gas station, the car, and the alley across the street. At the same time, Toshirou searched the surrounding area. He kept his eyes open for a whip, but he was mostly looking for any sign of a long, thin, wavy object.

Chiaki was left standing on her own with nothing specific to do. She decided to just stand watch while her male classmates busied themselves.

"What happened here?" Yuuga asked as he and Gakuto examined the car.

"We've concluded that someone must have set the car on fire," Gakuto elucidated, "Our group was actually using this vehicle for gathering materials and reconnaissance. Toshirou and I were driving it all over the city this morning."

"We also came across Teru this morning while we were on our run," Toshirou added in, "That's how we learned all about his plans concerning the school."

"What was it like when you first heard it from him?" inquired Yuuga.

"At first we weren't quite sure what to make of that idea," Gakuto recalled, "However, as he went further into detail, we gradually became more convinced that his plan had a rational opportunity of success. I mean, he definitely seemed certain of himself that it would he had a decent chance working out."

"You could almost say it was too good to be true," stated Toshirou.

"As of right now, it **was**," Yuuga pointed out, "I mean, Teru's dead and his disruption code was taken."

"Unfortunately, that's true," Toshirou concurred, "But I'm curious; how did you guys know his code was gone before you even got here?"

"That's an excellent question," stated Gakuto, "In fact, on that subject, how did you know about the code in the first place and how did you know to come here to find Teru's body?"

"We'll tell you that in a moment," Yuuga assured them, "Right now, I just want to investigate this area and make certain we're not overlooking anything. After that, we'll tell you everything. Right, Chiaki?"

"Yeah, of course," the bold girl answered. She was totally sincere when she said this. She remembered when she first saw Gakuto and Toshirou that morning. It was right after they had left the supermarket and right before she had met Kotoyo. While they had intended to make chemical weapons, she felt confident that they would make a good couple of allies. If she was going to work with them, she would have to share everything she knew. Or almost everything, at the least.

"Does your group have a specific base?" asked Yuuga.

"Up until a few hours ago, yes," Gakuto answered, "We were using the bar in D-7. Our entire group was staking out there. Once we found out the area was going to become a danger zone, we gathered up our goods and moved out."

"Where are Osamu and Reika?" queried Chiaki.

"Unless they're already there, they're on their way to the mall at the northern border of the city," Toshirou remarked, "After we left the bar, we thought of using the mall as part of an escape plan for after we disable the school. We decided to split up into pairs in order to get more done in less time. That's why we're here and they're not."

"Do you think they're alright?" stated Yuuga as he and Gakuto examined the interior of the car a second time.

"While I feel we can't take anything for granted anymore, I have faith in Osamu and Reika and their ability to survive," Toshirou told him, "Once we're finished here or once we've recovered that code, we'll rendezvous with them at the carpentry shop."

"Why the carpentry shop?" asked Chiaki.

"Because that's where we left all our chemicals and other supplies," Gakuto told her.

"Sounds like a fine little plan," Yuuga commented. At this point, he and Gakuto had finished studying the car and they began walking across the street to the alley. As they walked, Yuuga shined his flashlight on the two figures sprawled across the ground.

"Am I to assume that these other bodies are Kazumitsu and Kaminari?" he enquired.

"You are correct," Toshirou answered dismally, "When Gakuto and I got back to the bar, the car was dangerously low on gasoline. Osamu wanted it the tank to be full in case we needed to make a quick getaway. So Kazumitsu and Kaminari volunteered to go on a gas run. It should have been an easy errand for the two of them to run. They never came back."

"We never heard anything about them again until the evening announcements," Gakuto added in.

Yuuga kneeled down next to Kaminari and looked her charred remains over. "Yeah, she was definitely burned to death. Take a look at her facial expressions. She must have been totally aware when it happened."

"That's just downright harsh," Gakuto stated in disgust, "I wouldn't do that to my worst enemy. Not even Seiji."

"Who?" asked Chiaki.

"A member of the Yakuza that our group does business with on occasion," Toshirou clarified, "He's a complete idiot. If ever there was a totally brain-dead human being, it would be him. He gives the Yakuza a bad name. And that's saying something."

"So you guys actually **do **business with the gangsters?" queried Yuuga.

"Yeah, what of it?" Gakuto casually remarked, "You don't have a problem with that, do you, Yuuga?"

Yuuga hesitated to respond. But ultimately, he simply shrugged and responded "I suppose not. At the moment, we have much bigger things to worry about. What you guys do in your spare time is the least of my worries. If anything, maybe your experience with them could be an advantage to all of us."

"How so?" asked Toshirou.

"You're familiar with this type of danger," Yuuga remarked, "You're experienced in developing weapons, you can handle high-level equipment, and I'll bet you've made a few gambles with your own lives beforehand."

"You make some good points," Gakuto agreed, "But in the end, those qualities didn't do much good for Kazumitsu and Kaminari."

"But **you** guys are still alive, aren't you?" argued Chiaki.

There were a few moments of silence before Toshirou replied with "Well… you got us there."

Gakuto and Yuuga took a look across the street next. They noted that pieces of a mostly-transparent substance were littered at the ground between the entrance to the alley and Kazumitsu's body. Yuuga picked a few of them up and looked them over.

"Is that… glass?" he commented.

"I think it is," Gakuto confirmed. He picked up another shard and sniffed it. He stated "They smell like petroleum, gasoline, and motor oil. I found a few bottles full of those chemicals in that car."

"What do you suppose that means?" queried Yuuga.

"Looks like they were making some Molotov cocktails," Gakuto speculated, "Clever thinking. I was actually going to suggest that back at the bar. It's the first use I had in mind for all those empty liquor bottles."

"The bar had a stash of empty bottles?" stated Yuuga.

"They weren't empty when we first got there," Toshirou enlightened him, "We picked out a significant percentage of the bar's inventory to help us make nitroglycerin. With the exception of a small bottle of vodka, we used all of them for that use alone. But we kept the bottles in reserve."

"Shame most of them went to waste anyway," Gakuto commented, "Then again, a lot of our materials went to waste. I suppose we were lucky enough that we got out all the chemicals and equipment we needed to make more nitroglycerin."

"About how much have you two made?" queried Chiaki.

"Around a quart," Toshirou estimated, "We're hoping to make more before too much time passes."

"If we can find time for that, we will," Gakuto assured him, "But for the present, we've got more pressing matters to attend to."

Once they were done examining the alley, they turned to Kazumitsu's body. Yuuga began to search him, but Gakuto stopped him and stated "Don't trouble yourself. I already frisked him before you and Chiaki got here. All I found on him was **this**."

At that, he held up a folded piece of paper. Then he said "I haven't looked at it yet. I'm not even certain it's that important. But Kazumitsu rarely – if ever – carried single sheet papers on hand. He always kept them in a folder or binder. He was really serious about having that much organization. With that in mind, I found it particularly odd that this paper was in his jacket."

"You going to look at it now?" asked Yuuga.

"No, not right now," answered Gakuto as he tucked the paper into his supply pack, "I'll worry about that later."

The next three minutes were spent mostly in silence. The quiet atmosphere was broken when Toshirou announced "Ah-ha! Found it!"

The other three turned in his direction and saw that he was holding a long, thin, wavy object in his left hand. It was the whip.

Gakuto just smirked and stated "I knew you could find it. Where was it?"

"Right behind Teru's body, if you can believe it," Toshirou stated cheekily. A moment later, his expression became a little more stern and he said "Of course, you do realize what this means."

"Yeah, I haven't forgotten what Kotoyo told us," Gakuto responded, "Now we know what became of her whip."

There were a few more moments of silence. Then Gakuto turned to Chiaki and Yuuga and stated "Oh, I suppose that deserves a little explanation. You see, right after we encountered Teru, we ran into Kotoyo at the supermarket. We were picking up soap there to help us create the glycerin we needed. We had a little exchange of information with her."

"She certainly seemed content when you guys left her," Chiaki interjected.

Toshirou and Gakuto were surprised to hear her say this. The latter asked him "What do you mean by that, Chiaki?"

"I saw you guys leave the supermarket this morning," she replied straightforwardly, "Shortly after I left, I met up with Kotoyo. She and I formed a partnership. A few hours after the evening announcement, we joined up with Yuuga."

"Yeah, **that **was an adventure," Yuuga cockily stated, "I only wish you two had been a little more subtle. It would have saved us about eight minutes of prowling through the streets."

"Wait a minute, you guys were working with Kotoyo?" Toshirou stated eagerly.

"Yeah, I spent the better part of the day with her," Chiaki said with a modicum of discomfort, "How else do think we came to learn about Teru's plans? She told us everything you told her."

"Good to know the news of resistance is spreading through the class," Gakuto remarked, "So, where is Kotoyo? Is she still with you?"

Yuuga and Chiaki looked at each other in unpleasant silence. Then Yuuga turned to the others and told them "I'm afraid she's dead."

Gakuto and Toshirou were shocked. Kotoyo had been in very good spirits when they had last seen her. With the exception of Teru, she had been the only person outside of their group that they were willing to trust. Now she was gone, too.

Toshirou tightened his facial expression and demanded "Who did it?"

"The same bastard that did this," Yuuga replied, "I assume Kotoyo told you about how Hitoshi saved her life this morning?"

"Yeah, but he wasn't so lucky," Gakuto recalled, "Since he had switched out his revolver for Kotoyo's whip, that same asshole that killed him must have been the one who did this."

"It **was** the same asshole," Yuuga confirmed, "We ran into that guy at the hotel. He was carrying Teru's harpoon rifle. We also found out he stole Teru's disruption code. He actually boasted about it and showed us the flash drive."

"I was standing guard in the front room while Yuuga and Kotoyo were searching the offices," Chiaki took over explaining, "Somehow, that guy managed to slip in without me noticing. We fought, and he managed to disarm me. Fortunately, Kotoyo and Yuuga showed up before he had a chance to finish me off. But we were left in a very compromising scenario."

"How'd you get out of **that **mess?" asked Toshirou.

"You can thank Kiyomi, Tatsuo, and Blaine for that," Yuuga told him, "I had been staying with them at City Hall before I ran into Chiaki and Kotoyo. They knew I was heading for the hotel, so when I didn't get back in time, they went looking for me. They managed to chase away that hooded bastard before Chiaki and I were hurt. But he killed Kotoyo."

"What do you mean by 'hooded bastard?'" inquired Toshirou.

"The guy was wearing a sweatshirt with the hood drawn over his head," Yuuga specified, "We never got a good look at his face, and he managed to disguise his voice very well. All I could tell about him was that he was male. Other than that, I have no idea who he was."

Toshirou and Gakuto turned to each other again. They were both equally confused by Yuuga's lack of awareness as to the identity of the hooded figure.

"Should I tell him, or do you want to?" queried Toshirou.

"I'll do it," Gakuto decided.

"Tell me what?" Yuuga said in perplexity.

At this time, Yuuga was standing a few feet in front of Gakuto. The chemist placed his hand on the emphatic boy's shoulder and stated "Yuuga, you do realize that that 'hooded figure' was Genji, right?"

Yuuga's face went absolutely pale; so pale that the others could clearly make him out in the dark without using their flashlights. He uttered quietly "How… how do you know this?"

Toshirou stated straightforwardly "Kotoyo told us this morning. It was one of the first things we learned from her. She told us it in very fine detail, I might add. She never said anything about him wearing a hooded sweatshirt."

Yuuga was stunned. "That's odd. She never told me or Chiaki it was him. Right, Chiaki?"

Yuuga waited for a response. When none came, he turned to Chiaki and repeated "Is that right, Chiaki?"

Despite the darkness, Yuuga could make out Chiaki's face. Her eyes were focused on the ground, her nose was wrinkled, and her lips were parted at the center of her mouth. He could read that sort of face anywhere. It was the face of guilt.

Yuuga took a couple steps towards Chiaki and asked her tensely "Chiaki… is there something you'd like to tell me?"

Chiaki started to shake her head, but after a moment, she nodded instead.

Yuuga said heatedly "You **knew **that son of a bitch was Genji?"

"Yes," she uttered softly. At this time, she could not even stand to look Yuuga in the eyes.

"You knew but you didn't tell me?" he shouted furiously.

"Would it have made any difference at the time?" she disputed.

"Maybe not, but I would have liked to know who was after us!" Yuuga snapped back.

"You were going to find out… eventually," she insisted.

"Would that have been before or after he killed more of us?" Yuuga yelled at her, "Just how long were you going to keep this a secret from me?"

Right then, Gakuto took Yuuga by his arms and told him, "Yuuga, calm the hell down!"

Yuuga turned his head towards his classmate and stared him in the eyes. Then he scoffed and remarked "'Calm down?' I've got extensive lessons and experience in emotional self-control and you're telling me to calm down? Don't you tell me to calm down, Gakuto."

"I can't really blame him for reacting this way," Toshirou commented, "After all, I'd certainly want to know who among our classmates is playing this game for real."

"I'm certain Chiaki had a good reason for keeping this a secret," Gakuto theorized.

"Maybe she did," Toshirou reasoned. Then he turned to their female classmate and added in "If that's the case, I'd like to know what."

Chiaki hesitated for a moment. Then she sighed and stated "I stayed silent… because of you two."

Gakuto and Toshirou appeared to be quite surprised by this answer. The latter of them said "'Us?'"

"Well, indirectly, yes," she clarified, "You see, I joined up with Kotoyo almost immediately after you left her. I told her everything I already knew – which wasn't much – and vice versa. That included Genji's position in this game. She agreed to help me in my efforts to find Yuuga and the members of my clique. I suggested sharing everything she told me with them once we found them. She agreed to share everything except Genji's betrayal."

"Why's that?" asked Toshirou.

"Her reasoning was that when she told you about him, the two of you seemed very distraught or uncomfortable," Chiaki told them, "She was concerned that knowing about what Genji did had seriously affected your personal wellbeing. However, neither of you spent that much time socializing with him back home. But if you two took the news **that** badly, the rest of the class might take it even worse. She didn't want to cause any more serious worry than she had to. So she asked me to keep quiet."

"That I can actually understand and sympathize with," Gakuto remarked.

"Perhaps, but you still shouldn't conceal such information from your allies," Toshirou countered.

"Well, in that case, how did the members of your group take the news?" queried Chiaki.

Toshirou and Gakuto paused for a few moment to think about this response. Finally, Gakuto told her "I honestly can't remember how they reacted."

"Umm, actually…" Toshirou tentatively began, "I don't think we ever got around to telling them about Genji. For that matter, we didn't even mention anything about Kotoyo. We only told them about our encounter with Teru."

"Aha, you see!" Chiaki smirked in satisfaction, "You can't criticize me for keeping information a secret while you're also holding that information to yourself. That's hypocrisy."

"She's got a point," Gakuto concurred.

"I guess she does," Toshirou stated, "But before we go on, I'd like to know something. Is there anything else anybody knows about that we should all know? I don't mean just Chiaki; I'm referring to all of us. Are there any more secrets among us?"

Over the next minute, he looked around the area from Gakuto, to Chiaki, to Yuuga, and back to Gakuto. He waited for them to say something. Finally, he said "No? That's good."

"In that case, maybe we can stop throwing accusations at each other and start cooperating," Gakuto suggested. He turned to Chiaki and Yuuga and stated "Consider the present circumstances. We all have the same objective, the same motivation, and the same enemy. I think we'd all seek to benefit by forming a type of coalition with each other. You guys interested?"

"Absolutely interested," Chiaki replied brightly, "If it weren't for you guys, we would never have even known about Teru's plan. Also, Kotoyo convinced me that you guys have everyone's best interests in mind. So you can count me in."

"Good to know," commented Toshirou. He turned to the empathic boy and asked him "What about you, Yuuga? You want in?"

Yuuga's face had returned to its usual emotionless appearance. Inwardly, he still felt a little conflicted about the scenario. However, his options were still as limited as they had been all day. He simply gazed back and forth between his three classmates and stood deeply thinking about the scenario for a while. Then he let out a deep sigh, nodded, and stated "Seeing as how we've already been working together for the past half-hour, I feel you guys can be trusted. In addition to this, if we all work together, it'll be much easier to find Genji, kill him, and recover Teru's disruption code. You've made another ally."

"This is excellent," remarked Gakuto. He then took a moment to look around the area and he thought aloud "There's still plenty of work to go around. Let's get back to it!"

…

"Goddamn it, this hurts," Michio Ueno (Boy #4) muttered angrily, trying to put weight on his left leg.

Michio was not having a good day. Then again, no one in Class 3-A was. However, nobody else in Class 3-A had a broken limb to contend with.

It had been almost ten hours since Michio's duel with Jakobe Tanaka. Although he emerged as the victor, he was still quite angered by what his win had cost him.

Immediately after he killed Jakobe, Michio headed off to the east. Initially, he had no specific destination in mind. All he was concerned about was finding a way to ease the splitting pain in his knee. He moved at a very slow pace, as his injury had reduced him to a third his normal speed.

Every time he set his left foot on the ground, he could feel an uncomfortable pang of agony. This agony was not restricted to his kneecap; he could feel it throughout his entire leg. The pain only got worse overtime.

Michio managed to traverse about two miles before he became desperate to find shelter and treat his knee. So he straightened out his glasses, took out his map, and looked it over for medical facilities. He quickly determined he was near the eastern border of G-7. He became extremely annoyed when he discovered that the hospital was in F-5. He would have had to turn around and go back the way he came in order to get there. He was not willing to accept that option. If he did, the last couple hours would simply have gone to waste. Aside from that, he had no desire to revisit the mess he had made.

He had been slightly less than two miles away from the eastern apartment complex at the time, but he was not willing to consider it as an option. Mostly because he was not certain he would find anything useful there.

Fortunately for him, he managed to pinpoint a pharmacy in J-7. However, it took him quite a while to get there. Even though the pharmacy was directly south of him, he did not have a clear, straight path that way. He had to walk around H-7, as it had been the first square of the map to become a danger zone that day. He was forced to travel through the zones east of that vicinity to reach the pharmacy.

On his way there, Michio started to develop an uneasy feeling. He got a strange idea that he was being followed. Eventually, after over an hour of glancing over his shoulder, he dismissed that notion as nothing more than simple, needless worry.

He finally arrived at the pharmacy about an hour after the evening announcements. Only then was Michio wholeheartedly glad he had avoided going to the hospital. As it turned out, F-5 had also become a danger zone by that time.

Immediately after he arrived at the pharmacy, Michio went to work getting some aid for his knee. However, he had barely any idea what to do or how to begin. He simply started by gathering up anything he thought would be useful. First, he found a bottle of painkillers. He managed to swallow a small handful of them with the help of some of his bottled water. They eased his discomfort marginally, but not nearly enough to his liking.

After the painkillers set in, Michio sat down on a bench near the back of the shop and examined his injury a little closer. Externally, the worst he had was a scab on the spot Jakobe had struck him. Internally, his kneecap and the entire joint below it had been shattered. None of the skin had been penetrated or badly damaged, which meant that Michio was not in danger of getting an infection. However, he could not bend his leg at all. Every time he tried to, he felt a piercing jolt of pain.

There was nothing he could do to repair the bones on his own. However, he knew a way to prevent his wound from getting any worse.

In the back room, Michio found some medical tape and two long wooden sticks. Once he had them, he returned to the bench. He measured the lengths of the sticks in relation to the length of his leg, and found that the sticks were about two feet longer. In order for his idea to work, they would all have to be the same length as his leg.

To remedy this problem, he drew his sword out of its sheath. Then he laid the sticks out on the bench and allowed the additional two feet hang off. After that, he used his sword to carefully saw off the extra two feet.

Once he did this, he straightened his leg out in front of him. He lined the two sticks up on either side of his leg and held them there with his left hand. Then he used his right hand to draw out a length of the medical tape. Once he had a long strip out, he began wrapping it around his upper leg and the closer ends of the sticks. He wrapped it many times over, making sure to pull it tightly into place each time. Then he got another long strip out and wrapped it just as tightly and just as many times around his lower leg and the further ends of the sticks.

This was the first time he had ever put a splint on one of his own limbs. However, it was not the first time he had put a splint on anyone altogether.

Two years earlier, Michio had been invited by a friend of his named Bokuzen Oguni to go on a week-long trip camping in the mountains of a town adjacent to Fujisawa. In addition to Michio, Bokuzen had invited three of his other friends to join him. Michio did not know them as well as Bokuzen did, but he was always looking to make new friends. So he accepted Bokuzen's invitation.

None of the boys' parents had accompanied them. The only adult that went with them was a mountain ranger who also functioned as their escort and guide.

The first few days of the trip went fairly well. At first, most of the group just paid attention to all the bothersome things in the environment, such as the insects, poisonous plants, and humid weather. The only two who did not complain about anything were the mountain ranger and Michio. The mountain ranger was amused by how none of the boys were used to "roughing it," so to speak. While he taught the boys a few tricks and techniques to camping in the wilderness, Michio came up with numerous ways of keeping his friends entertained and in good moods.

This was fairly easy for him to accomplish. Within a half-hour of telling some amusing anecdotes, all of Michio's friends were grinning again. This was to be expected; anyone who knew Michio very well also knew that it was difficult to remain in bad humor while in his company. He always made his friends feel appreciated and special. In fact, Michio may have been the main reason the group decided to keep the trip going after the first night. Bokuzen was grateful for that.

The first five days had gone very smoothly. The boys and the ranger had a fine time hiking, sightseeing, swimming, and generally exploring the mountains. While most of the activities were quite rigorous, they were also quite enjoyable.

It was not until the sixth day that something went horribly wrong.

On that day, the boys and the ranger went rock-climbing to reach the peak of the mountain. The ranger said that this was normally an all-day event, so they were out from the late morning until the early evening. They managed to reach the top of the mountain a couple hours before sunset. They stayed up there a while to admire the view and to have some fun with the echoes.

When dusk came along, they headed back to their campsite. However, about half-way up the mountain, they had to scale down an entirely vertical fifty-foot wall of rock. From the base, that wall was the only way up to the top of the mountain. But from where the boys and the ranger were, the wall was the only way down to the bottom of it. They used a chain to scale down it one at a time, and they also had to make do without safety harnesses.

The ranger went first to ensure that the chain was sturdy and secure. Once he was down, the boys followed him one at a time. The first three got down without a hitch. When Michio's turn came, he took his time climbing down, as he and heights did not get along well. Plus, he did not want to risk dropping his glasses as he descended.

He took so long that Bokuzen – who happened to be the last person left – became impatient and tried to get Michio to hurry up. Eventually, Michio did reach the bottom of the wall. Bokuzen then proceeded to climb down the wall. However, he may have been a little too eager to reach the bottom, as he rushed down the chain. When he was about twenty feet above the ground, he slipped and fell. He landed on the ground before his friends even had a chance to catch him. The moment he hit the ground, they could all hear the sound of a bone break.

Next thing they knew, Bokuzen was shouting in anguish. His leg was bent at an abnormal angle, and his femur was sticking out of his skin. The others immediately went to his aid.

Bokuzen's friends managed to get him to hold still long enough for the mountain ranger to examine the injury. The prognosis was not promising. Bokuzen's leg needed to be treated and soon. But it would have been impossible to carry him down the mountain by themselves; there were too many obstacles that could only be passed when on foot or in the daylight.

The only solution was to have Bokuzen lifted off the mountain. The mountain ranger quickly came up with a plan for this. He told the other boys that he would need their assistance in order for it to work. They all agreed to give him their full cooperation.

He explained to the boys that his fellow rangers kept a helicopter at their station. It was specifically intended for emergency situations, just like the one they were in. However, the ranger station was near the base of the mountain. He told the boys that some of them needed to make their way down to the station. There had to be three of them for this; one to mark the trail, one to alert the other rangers, and one to accompany them on the way back up.

While they did this, the mountain ranger said that he needed to start a fire in order to properly signal down his colleagues to their location. But in order to do that, he had to climb to higher ground; there were too many tall trees at the base of the stone wall.

This meant one of the boys would have to stay behind with Bokuzen. Michio volunteered for this task, as he felt partially responsible.

After everyone else left to accomplish their tasks, Michio turned his attention to the hurt Bokuzen.

"I'm really sorry this happened to you, Bokuzen" he told his friend as he helped him sit up against a rock.

"Don't be, Michio" Bokuzen assured him, "It's my own fault I was in such a hurry to get down from there."

After helping Bokuzen get comfortable, Michio took a close look at his leg. He had asked him "How's it feel?"

"It only hurts if I move it," Bokuzen had answered, "In other words, it's useless."

"In that case, we've got to make certain you don't move it at all," Michio realized. He picked up his flashlight and instructed his friend "Stay here. I'll be right back."

Michio left Bokuzen on his own for a couple minutes. He came back with a pair of long branches that had fallen from a tree. He made certain the branches had no thorns, leaves, twigs, or anything else on them that would get in the way. Then he straightened out Bokuzen's broken leg and used some cloth to tie the branches to it.

When he was done, Bokuzen smirked and said "Thanks. I think that's actually doing me some good."

"Just take it easy and don't make any sudden movements," Michio advised him.

"Can do," Bokuzen agreed.

The two boys were on their own for over two hours. They decided to turn their flashlights off in order to conserve the batteries. With the exception of the city lights in the distance, they were left completely in the dark.

Bokuzen was very depressed about his leg. Even though Michio had been able to bandage it, the bone was still sticking out. Just looking at it made him feel sick. Aside from that, he could not stop thinking about was how much trouble his leg would bring him when he got home. He would have to stay in the hospital for a few days for surgery and recovery. After that, he'd need a wheelchair, then crutches… it would be months before he would be able to walk straight again.

Fortunately, he had Michio with him. Michio had been able to keep Bokuzen in good spirits while they waited for their friends to get back. He eased the situation by telling amusing stories, swapping old and new jokes, and recalling their most memorable events together. After a while, Bokuzen felt as though all his worries and sorrows had faded away.

Eventually, the others managed to bring the helicopter to their position and the paramedics quickly got Bokuzen loaded onto it. Before taking off, the pilot informed Bokuzen that there was still room for another person, in case he wanted one his friends to come with him to the hospital. Bokuzen accepted this offer and chose Michio to go with him.

The other boys returned to the campsite with the mountain ranger and stayed there overnight. The following morning, they packed up and left. After checking out at the ranger station, the three of them went to the hospital to visit their friends. When they got there, they found Bokuzen in a room with his leg in a cast. As they expected, Michio was right at his side. The two of them were laughing, as if nothing bad had happened.

"Too bad you can't stay here the whole time I recover, Michio," Bokuzen told his friend before he left, "You've got a better bedside manner than this hospital's entire staff combined."

Michio scoffed and remarked "I do what I can. The day I turn on a friend is the day I forfeit my life."

At the time, he had made this statement merely to emphasize a point. He did not realize just how true it could be under just the right circumstances.

When Bokuzen broke his leg, Michio had been the one who primarily helped him get through the ordeal. However, a broken bone – even when protruding out of one's skin – is one thing. A shattered bone is another entirely. They do not mend easily. Some may never mend at all.

Even with the splint on, Michio's leg distressed him greatly. It would be a disability to him throughout the remainder of the Program. Even if he did manage to survive it, professional treatment would only get him so far. While he was certain he would not have to resort to amputation, his options were not very expansive. He would probably have to wear a brace whenever he was on his feet. At the very least, he would have a limp for the rest of his life. That would mean no more trips to the mountains with Bokuzen and his other friends.

Michio's physical health was not his only questionable aspect. Of all the members of Class 3-A, he had changed the most in terms of personality. In less than one day, he had gone from the compassionate, good-humored person everyone loved and recognized to the coldblooded, merciless individual that only Jakobe Tanaka knew about.

The main reason Michio was always in a good mood was because before that day, he never saw any real need to panic about anything. This in turn was because he had never faced a dilemma he felt to be particularly threatening to him.

The Program had struck him like a cold splash of reality. When he was faced with this life-threatening situation, his demeanor had taken a drastic turn. His reaction to this newfound sensation of fear was very different from his normal reaction. It had manifested itself in him as a form of madness. This madness was what had driven him to chase, confront, and kill Jakobe.

If Michio was willing to kill once, he would certainly be willing to kill again. However, he was making a few changes to his original plan. He had to factor in his broken knee, as it had become a serious impediment. He had no desire to emerge his next encounter with something even worse than a shattered kneecap. So from this point onward, he was going to be more careful. He would still try stalking his victims, but he would do this strictly for investigative purposes. As soon as he felt confident that he could defeat whoever he found next, he would move in and take that person out.

After putting the splint on his leg, Michio had a disturbing realization. It occurred to him that with the hospital out of commission, some of his classmates would probably come to the pharmacy if they needed medical aid. With this in mind, he wanted to get back on his feet as soon as possible and head back out into the city.

Over the next three hours, Michio had spent most of his time trying to balance himself on his feet. He gradually put more pressure on his left leg overtime. This was an extremely slow process, but after three whole hours of these exercises, Michio finally managed to stand on his feet without so much as wincing.

Once he was satisfied with his recovery, Michio decided it was time to leave. He slung the straps to his supply pack and backpack over his shoulders and slid his sword back into his sheath. Then he got to his feet and headed towards the entrance. His pace had not improved any in the past few, but he had no choice but to cope with this disadvantage for the present.

When Michio reached the front entrance, he got out his flashlight and carefully pushed the door open. He poked his head outside and pointed his flashlight down either ends of the street. As far as he could see, the immediate area was empty.

Michio slipped outside and started limping down the street. It was difficult to move with the splint in place, as he could not bend his left leg at all. However, it was preferable to the alternative sensation.

He trudged off to the west. He went at a slow and steady pace to prevent overexerting himself. He actually made it across two whole blocks without pausing or trembling. In all that time, he said things to himself such as "Come on, just keep moving. You've got it in you. You can make it. You can do this."

Then, out of nowhere, Michio felt a stab of pain in his ankle. He shouted in alarm and stumbled against the building to his left. He tried his hardest to stay on his feet, but the pain was surprisingly overwhelming.

After regaining his composure, Michio looked down at the back of his feet and saw the source of the problem. He had been shot in the heel with an arrow, just like Achilles at the battle of Troy. The sight of it shocked him so greatly that it almost took his breath away.

Michio kept one of his hands on the hilt of his sword, ready to draw it at a moment's notice. At the same time, he reached down to pull out the arrow in his heel. But just before he reached it, another arrow sailed through the area and pierced his hand.

Michio backed into the wall again and shouted in agony. He barely had time to catch his breath when another arrow punctured his upper chest. This one hit him right where his windpipe connected to his lungs. As a result, Michio did not even have the capacity to scream anymore.

As he was visited by this new pain, he spotted his assailant down the road.

Across the street, Maki Nakamura (Girl #15) had already fired three arrows and was in the process of notching a fourth. Even though it was totally dark, she could clearly make out every move Michio made. Truthfully, she could have killed him with the first arrow, but she had no intention of letting him off that easily. She had waited this long for him to come out of his hiding place. She wanted to make his suffering last as long as possible, so she choose her targets on his body carefully.

She saw he was reaching for his sword. Even though she knew an armed adversary could actually pose a decent challenge, Maki was not going to let Michio think he could gain the upper hand. She fired at him again; this time the arrow impaled his thigh. Once more, he doubled over in anguish.

It was then that Michio turned around and tried to run to end of the block. Maki could tell he was trying to make a getaway. Of course, this was difficult enough with his broken leg. All the same, Maki wanted to make certain Michio had no chance of evading her. She armed her bow again and aimed at his lower body. The fifth arrow sailed directly through his right kneecap. Immediately after this, he tripped and collapsed onto his stomach. Maki smiled when she saw this happen. Now Michio was crippled. However, he was not yet dead.

Maki slowly began walking towards Michio. He tried desperately to crawl away from the scene. But his efforts were in vain. Maki had him right where she wanted him.

When she was about ten feet away from him, Maki stopped approaching Michio. By then, all he had managed to do was sit up against the wall with tremendous effort. Maki got a good look at his countenance. It was lined with gloom, discomfort, and misery. He was in so much pain that he could barely even move. That was precisely what she wanted to see.

Michio barely had the strength to speak at this time. But if he could talk, he would have begged Maki for his life or for mercy. Even if he had, she would not have granted him either.

Maki slowled reached back into her quiver and drew out a sixth arrow. She brought it around and notched it onto her bow. Then she raised it into the air and pulled the bowstring as far back as it could go. She aimed it directly at her wounded classmate. She remained in that position for almost an entire minute. Then she released the bowstring.

The last arrow went directly through the right lens of Michio's glasses.

…

Back at the mall, Osamu Sano and Reika Fujihara had managed to move fifteen mattresses from the furniture store to the clothing department in the past hour and a-half. They were in the midst of moving a sixteenth one. It had taken them so long to accomplish this task because of the distance between the two shops, as they were on opposite ends of the mall. It only took them about two minutes to get from the clothing department to the furniture store, but it took more than twice that long going the other way, as they had to work together to transport the mattresses. This proved to be a long and somewhat process, but they got it done.

Once they got to the clothing department, they carried the last mattress over to the others. They were three stacks of four and one stack of three. Osamu and Reika placed the last mattress on the smallest pile so that they had four stacks of four.

They paused a moment to look over the piles. They were stacked nice and neatly. Reika queried "You think we got enough?"

"Yeah, definitely," Osamu replied, "After all, we've got four more than we originally settled on. I guess we're past 'one more can't hurt.'"

"No kidding," Reika concurred, rubbing her biceps with her hands. Then she joked "If we have to move any more, it probably **will** start to hurt."

"At least we got in a decent workout," Osamu cheekily remarked, "Come on, let's go get our stuff."

The two of them then left the clothing department and headed back to the furniture store. About an hour earlier – just before they moved the fifth mattress – the two of them had realized that their supply packs and backpacks were starting to become a nuisance. The bags had limited their range of motion whenever they picked up and moved the mattresses, so they decided to take them off and leave them behind in the furniture store while they worked. Now that they were finished, they could recover their bags.

When they got back to the furniture store, they spotted their bags on one of the made beds in the center of the shop, which was right where they left them. This particular bed was a rather large one, large even for a king-sized. It was lined with tan and brown sheets and covered by a gold-checkered comforter. There was a sign hanging above it which marked it as a specialty item.

Osamu and Reika stepped up to the bed and gathered their bags. Before they went anywhere, Reika sat down on the side of the bed and requested "You mind if we rest a little while?"

Osamu shrugged and said "I don't see why not. We're not in any hurry."

Reika then scooted onto the bed and crossed her legs. She turned to her supply pack, opened it, and took out a bottle of water. She unscrewed the cap and held it out to Osamu first, offering "Care for some?"

He waved his hand and politely declined with "No, thanks. We've got to make this stuff last. I can manage without it for a while."

"Suit yourself," she agreed. She took a long swig from the bottle. The water was hardly even cool, lukewarm at best, but it was still refreshing to her. At the same time, Osamu got a towel out of his backpack and wiped the sweat off his brow.

Once Reika was finished having her drink, she screwed the cap back on the bottle and put it back into her pack. After this, she turned to her front and stretched out her arms and her back, groaning a bit.

"You alright?" Osamu asked in concern.

"I think so," she replied, pressing her fingertips against the center of her back, "It's probably nothing, but I think I may have strained something when we moved that last mattress."

Osamu placed his towel back into his backpack and sat down next to Reika. Then he asked her "Where exactly does it hurt?"

"I can only detect a twinge of pain in my forearms," she informed him, "However, I can feel a lot of tension in my back."

"Here, let me see your wrists," he instructed her.

Reika complied and showed Osamu the front of her arms. He took her hands in his and began rubbing them with his thumbs. As he did this, he asked her "How does that feel?"

She smiled at him and said "It feels nice. Definitely easing the stiffness. Keep doing that."

He scoffed and remarked "Yes, ma'am."

As he rubbed Reika's wrists, Osamu saw that her supply pack was open. He noticed a glass Mason jar was among the contents of her bag. He turned to Reika and inquired "What's with the jar?"

"Oh, that's a bit of an amusing story," she elucidated, "This morning, we took inventory of our weapons before I went out to find you. Kaminari was given that as hers. She left it behind at the bar when she and Kazumitsu went to get gasoline for the car."

"Why'd you bring it along?" he enquired.

She shrugged and bluntly responded "I don't really know. I just thought we might find some practical use for it. You could call it an inclination; an inclination that derives from the most ideal of policies to live by: waste nothing."

"What is it?" he said in interest.

"Gakuto identified it by the chemical formula on the label as Fluoroantimonic Acid," she recounted, "It's very destructive and **very** lethal. According to what he told us, it can dissolve just about anything: metal, ceramic, plaster, Pyrex. Theoretically, it should even be able to eat straight through that glass."

"But it isn't," Osamu noted, "Why do you suppose that is?"

"I have a theory," Reika speculated, "According to Gakuto, the only type of surface Fluoroantimonic Acid definitely won't eat through is plastic. Maybe the jar's insides are coated with some sort of plastic-based compound to protect the glass."

"Sounds like a reasonable theory," Osamu told her. There was more silence as Osamu continued rubbing Reika's wrists. Thirty seconds later, he let go of her hands and stated "If everything Gakuto said is true, then maybe we could use the acid to get these collars off. Right?"

Reika promptly frowned and shook her head. She advised him "Believe me, Osamu, that would be an **extremely **bad idea. For one thing, we don't know what type of explosives these collars are rigged with. We don't even know where the detonators are. If the acid comes in direct contact with anything other than the detonator, then the explosives could automatically go off. Aside from that, I don't think I've emphasized just how dangerous this acid is. When I said it can dissolve just about anything, that includes anything organic. This acid can eat straight through our skin. Gakuto told us that getting as much as a drop on your hand could leave a giant hole in your palm. With that in mind, I don't even want to know what it could do if it came in contact with my neck."

"It would probably decapitate you," Osamu hypothesized, "That would be a surefire way to get the collars off, but it would produce the same bad results as just letting them explode."

"So that's out of the question," Reika concluded.

"Yeah, but I wonder…" Osamu stated, rubbing his chin. He sat thinking for a while, and then he told Reika "We still haven't worked out a way to open that window in the clothing department. Windows of that size cannot be pushed or slid open manually. So we'll have to break it open somehow."

"That should be easy enough," Reika claimed, "We could just find some heavy object to smash the glass. Or better yet, I could shoot the glass with my pistol."

"No, that would make too much noise," Osamu pointed out, "The sound would probably alert the soldiers standing guard along the fences. That could end our escape plan before it even begins. We'd need a quieter method of destroying the glass. So I was thinking… if Fluoroantimonic Acid really **can** dissolve glass, maybe we could use it on the window."

Reika took a moment to think about this proposal. Then she shrugged slightly and said "I suppose it's worth a shot. You want to put that theory to the test?"

"Sure, but not right now," Osamu decided, "I want to check the department for alarms and such first. We may actually have to wait until we've regrouped with the others."

"I can live with that," Reika remarked.

The two of them sat in silence for a while. Osamu rubbed his brow again and commented "Is it hot in here? I know I worked up a bit of sweat from moving those mattresses, but it's starting to feel humid."

"The foundation should have a facility-wide air-conditioning system," Reika noted, "But given the size of this place, it would probably need constant monitoring in order to keep it running. I'm guessing it's offline."

"Oh, well; guess we'll just have to deal with it," said Osamu. He pulled back his uniform collar and slid off his uniform jacket. Then he rolled up the sleeves on his shirt up to his elbows and the sleeves on his pants up to his knees.

Reika snickered and commented "It's really that hot, huh?"

"Yeah, but it's not the heat that gets me as much as the stress," he observed.

"I can relate to that," she stated. She stretched out again and said "On the subject of that, I still have a bit of a kink in my back. I don't suppose you'd mind… well…?"

Osamu just smiled and told her "It'd be my pleasure. Here, lie down on your stomach."

Reika complied and settled her boy down across the bed. She untucked her blouse from her skirt and lifted it and her jacket a few inches to show the lower half of her back. Osamu shifted his position on the bed so he was sitting on his knees directly behind her. Then he began rubbing the lower part of her back. As he did, he asked her "Is that the right spot?"

"A little higher," she informed him.

Osamu pushed Reika's jacket and blouse a little further up her back. He stopped when the strap to her bra became visible. Then he continued rubbing her on the center of her back. After a few moments of doing this, he inquired "How's that feel?"

Reika sighed contently and responded with "Much… much better. That's really soothing."

"In that case, I'll keep doing it," Osamu remarked.

The two of them remained in this position for a long while. Osamu continued stroking Reika's back in all that time. A couple minutes after he began, she started moaning. But she was not moaning in pain; she was moaning in bliss. She sounded as though she was aroused.

Truth be told, she was. Though she was not the only one. Osamu found the situation to be a little invigorating as well. He had given a couple people backrubs before this day, but all of them had been immediate family members. He had never touched any of his friends this way before, nor had he ever seen Reika's back. In fact, he was the first person outside of her own family that she ever allowed to see that region of her body.

A type of energy was developing between the two of them. This energy's inception took place this morning when Osamu kissed Reika after she found him. As the hours passed, it had been building up, growing stronger and firmer. Almost twenty hours had passed since their first kiss, and now the energy was turning into desire.

"Hey, Osamu?" said Reika.

"Hmmm?" he acknowledged.

"You remember that question you asked me before we got here?" she stated.

He thought back a little and responded with "You mean the one about how you never have any opposition to our groups' activities?"

"Yeah, that one," she confirmed, "I've been pondering on it ever since you asked me, and I think I'm ready to answer it."

"Right now?" he assumed.

"Yeah, I want to tell you," Reika told him, looking over her shoulder.

"Alright," he complied, continuing the back rub, "You have my attention."

Reika contemplated how to begin her explanation. She opened up with "How often has one of our operations failed?"

He answered straightforwardly with "There was the incident with Kaminari and Kazumitsu."

"That doesn't count," she countered, "For that matter, nothing in the Program does. Anything can go wrong here. I'm referring to everything that took place before today."

"Well, in that case…" Osamu briefly thought back through everything the group had been through back in Fujisawa. Then he responded with "Never. As far as I recall, everything's always gone according to plan."

"Why do you suppose that is?" she asked rhetorically.

Osamu shrugged and told her "It all depends on a variety of factors. Some could say it's luck, but I don't think so. Maybe we just always manage to utilize the appropriate resources, organization, and execution."

"Yeah, but who's the one that controls those things?" she remarked.

"Well, that would be me," he replied.

"Exactly," she confirmed, "That's precisely why I never have any complaints. Because with you in charge, I feel there's nothing to worry about."

Osamu was surprised by this answer. "Do you mean that?"

"Absolutely," she affirmed, "The others and I can trust you to do right by us. Regardless of how difficult the situation may seem, you always get us out of it. You help us stay hopeful and resolved. I admire that about you. That quality's the true mark of a leader. And of a man."

Osamu was awed by Reika's words. As he continued rubbing her, he stated "I'm very glad to hear you say that. But you shouldn't give me the credit for everything. You and the others are just as important to the group as I am. After all, a leader is nothing without followers. Just as how a man is nothing… without a woman."

Reika looked over her shoulder and said "I can be both of those things for you."

Osamu abruptly stopped rubbing her. He was stunned by the implication she had just made. "Reika, are you implying… what I think you are?"

Reika slowly turned onto her side, and gazed back at Osamu. She smiled and told him "I am."

She then sat up straight so that her eyes were level with his. She noticed he was sweating much more than he had been earlier. She remained smiling and said "You're right about the heat. Let me see if I can help you cool down."

Reika raised her hands up to Osamu's uniform shirt and unbuttoned the collar. Then she went further down to handle all the other buttons. Osamu did not reject her advances. Once she was done, she helped him slid his shirt off his arms and shoulders.

"Your turn," Reika beamed, sticked out her chest.

Immediately, Osamu went to work unbuttoning her blouse. He took much less time than she had, which showed how eager he was. Once he was finished, he helped Reika take off her jacket and blouse. All she was wearing on the upper half of her body was her bra.

"Keep going," she encouraged him. Osamu tentatively reached around her and unfastened the clasp to her bra. A split-second later, it was off.

Osamu took a moment to admire Reika. To him, her body looked just as flawless as her face. There were no moles, no birthmarks, and absolutely no wrinkles to be seen anywhere. Her large, round breasts nicely complimented her curvaceous figure. Osamu shuddered anxiously when he noticed her nipples were erect.

Reika was just as pleased with what she was seeing. Osamu's upper body was very muscular. He had a total lack of chest hair, but his muscles were tough and smooth. His ribcage emphasized how strong and firm his abdomen was.

After this long silence, Osamu placed his hands on Reika's shoulders and asked her "Reika, are you sure this is what you want?"

In response, she grasped him by his shoulders, pulled herself closer to him, and kissed him full on the lips. He returned the kiss and embraced her.

When she pulled apart, she answered him "Yes, Osamu. I've wanted this for so long."

At that, he smirked deviously, said "Good," and pushed her back onto the bed. He gazed lustfully into her eyes and told her "Because I have, too."

She returned that smirk and whispered "Let's do it."

It took less than three minutes for the two of them to get completely undressed and crawl under the covers of the bed.

The next half-hour felt like a fantasy that both of them had often yearned for. Only it was not a fantasy; it was actually happening. The end of this living fantasy marked the moment two of the most private individuals in Class 3-A lost their innocence.

…

When accomplishing a goal, what would be the most important approach to utilize? That, of course, would depend upon the nature and circumstances of the goal. When given a limited amount of time, haste would be most ideal. When the quality of the results is prioritized first, attentiveness would be keen. However, when a person is given time constraints **and **the results for success must be executed superbly, one must use caution.

The Program is perhaps the epitome of the last type of goal. While no specific time limit is set, at least one of the contestants must die every twenty-four hours in order for the remaining participants to keep playing. Additionally, the only possible way to succeed with little or no error would involve being the last one left alive. One would have to be as observant and careful as possible in order to avoid failing here

Needless to say, caution would be invaluable in this scenario. At the start of the Program, only a few of the students had warily taken steps to ensure their well-being. As time went on, more of them realized that they could not take any aspects of their safety for granted. Currently, the majority of the remaining survivors in Class 3-A had adapted careful approaches.

However, ever since the start of the game, Genji Nishihara (Boy #14) had been an exception to this majority. Despite being the game's most prolific killer, he had been far from cautious. In fact, up until this point, almost everything he had gotten through had been reflected not by dexterity or by astuteness, but rather by simple luck. This included all five of his victims.

Genji had planned to play the Program right from the moment Furutani confirmed his class was in it. However, when he departed from the school, he was angered to see that he had his weapon had been a pack of thumbtacks. He knew he would need a fairly decent weapon in order to have a serious chance at winning the game.

Had Genji received any sort of firearm, he would have seriously considered staying at the front entrance to eliminate some of his classmates. However, the possibility of lingering around to swipe a better weapon from one of them did not even occur to him. Instead, he decided to go out into the city and lure someone towards him. He did this by going to the apartment complex and leaving a light on in the front room, which could have turned out to be a rather foolish gesture.

It was just his luck that Misaki Ozawa had been the first person he encountered and that she had been carrying a submachine gun. Taking her down was easy enough, as he knew full well about her crush on him. The only reason he had managed to kill Misaki was that he knew her personal weakness. For that same reason, he had managed to kill Chieko Suda as well. Getting her onto the roof of that building was surprisingly simple; almost as simple as pushing her off. However, he would not have been able to manipulate any of his other classmates that way.

He had made his first major mistake when he encountered Hitoshi Ohara and Kotoyo Fukumoto. Rather than gunning them down the moment he found them, he took some time to directly confront them. In this time, Hitoshi managed to use Kotoyo's whip against Genji and hold him off long enough for her to escape. Hitoshi had also managed to whip Genji almost to the brink of death. Even though Genji still managed to recover his submachine gun and kill Hitoshi, he had emerged from that encounter covered with scars and his clothes ruined. Worse yet, Kotoyo was somewhere out in the city. It occurred to Genji that if she managed to make some allies, she would be able to spread word that he was playing.

After cleaning his wounds and donning his spare uniform, Genj realized that this sort of incident could happen again. That was what incited him to put on Chieko's hooded sweatshirt. After all, his entire upper body and head would be concealed by it, and no one else in the class knew that he had it.

Despite this, his other confrontations had gone no more smoothly. After leaving the hospital grounds, he had followed Shuuichi Kai and Kenzou Iwamoto (Boy #3) to City Hall. But he had failed to kill either of them, and Yuuga Suzuki had managed to chase him away. This was partly because the encounter with Hitoshi had left him reluctant to enter any more direct confrontations.

After Kenzou got away, Genji had wandered aimlessly around the streets, looking for more of his classmates. When he heard the explosion at the gas station, he decided to investigate without hesitation. He was fortunate enough to have gotten there before anyone else. This had enabled him to kill Teru Machida and steal his disruption code and harpoon rifle.

Lastly, there was the incident at the hotel. He had seen three of his classmates enter the building and he entered it about twenty minutes after. Only one of the three – Chiaki Iwasaki – was out there. He would have waited until the other two came back out before attacking, but Chiaki discovered his presence before he could hide.

He managed to overpower Chiaki, but what had he had done after had been the most imprudent thing he had ever done. Not just in the Program, but in his entire life. He had allowed both Kotoyo and Yuuga to draw guns on him, and he wasted time by giving them an impromptu speech about how seriously he was playing the game. The only reason he had done this was to instill fear in his classmates so that he would be able to bring them down more easily. Secretly, he relished in seeing them so afraid of him.

He found it peculiar how Kotoyo never addressed him by his name. In fact, it seemed as though she was avoiding it.

He had been so preoccupied on the three of them that he had allowed Blaine Rhodes, Tatsuo Inoue (Boy #2), and Kiyomi Takayama (Girl #12) to sneak up on him from behind. He had no doubt that Blaine could have shot him in the back of the head if he wanted to. He was simply lucky that he had not chosen to do so. Genji cut his plans to bring up his kill count short. He had been forced to improvise to make a quick escape through the hotel's offices. In the process, he managed to use Teru's harpoon rifle to mortally wound Kotoyo and switch it out for her revolver. Then he broke the window and jumped out.

After eavesdropping on Kotoyo's death and the conversation between the other five people, Genji left the area. Other than getting to the library in twenty-four hours, he had no immediate plans for the future. He ultimately decided to just make some up as time went on.

He decided to get out of the area first, so he gathered up his materials and headed to the east. Soon, he arrived in E-6. Once he got there, he sat down on the sidewalk, opened his supply pack, and took out his flashlight and map.

After confirming his location, he pondered his available options. He had been so busy all day that at this time, he suddenly felt quite fatigued. For the first time since leaving the school, Genji thought about taking a break from playing the game and to get some rest. So he examined the map for a hideout in close proximity to the area. It only took him a few seconds to discover that the fire station was close by. It appeared to be only a few hundred meters away from him. So he decided to go there.

After he packed up his supplies, he decided to study Kotoyo's revolver. He pulled it out of his belt and examined it closely. Even from a distance, he had managed to identify it as a Colt Python, which utilized .357 Magnum cartridges. He recalled that Kotoyo had fired at him with it a few times, so it needed to be at least partially reloaded.

Genji turned to Kotoyo's supply pack and took out some ammunition. He opened up the chamber and saw that it still had two rounds left.

As Genji began to reload the gun, he had a flashback to his childhood.

Even before the Program, Genji had been no stranger to guns. He had held and seen many of them in his life. He had been involved in a business that heavily used them. It was a covert business, and a particularly risky one. His work in this business had taught him plenty about the history and characteristics of dozens of different firearms. He could recognize many different guns on sight, but this particular model, he would never be able to forget.

Something very grim and traumatizing had happened to Genji when he was younger. It had taken place many years ago, but he could still remember it as if it had occurred just that morning. He had tried many times to forget about it, but the memory was etched into his brain. The best he could manage was temporarily put the memory aside.

Under normal circumstances, he could keep the memory at bay. But the Program was not normal. Everything that had happened so far had rendered him very disturbed. He tried to appear emotionless and coldblooded in front of his classmates, but inwardly, he was terrified. While he genuinely did not care for his classmates, he had no personal grudge against any of them. He was not proud to have killed them, but he was certain his father would be.

After Genji loaded up the gun, he held it in both hands and stared down at it. The flashback soon returned. He could still visualize everything perfectly. The shadowy figure, the bright light, the scream, and most of all… the gunshot. What haunted him the most was what followed immediately after the gunshot. That was the blood splatter. The splatter had a limited radius, but at the time, it felt as though the entire area was coated in red.

Genji held his forehead with his hands and muttered in frustration "Get out. Damn you, get out of my head! Don't do this now! I do not the time for this shit."

Perspiration began to form on Genji's temple. His breathing became labored and uneven. He said softly under his breath "No, no, no, no, NO, NO!"

Then he stopped. He opened his eyes and looked around the vicinity. He let out a sigh of relief when he realized that it was all just a hallucination. There was no bright light, no scream, no gunshot, no blood splatter, and no shadowy figure. He was still alone.

Or at least, he appeared to be.

"Well, look what we have here," he heard a voice say slyly from behind. This was followed immediately by the cocking of a revolver.

Genji snapped to attention when he heard this voice. But he dared not to make the slightest move, lest that be enough to set the other person off.

He could not make out the assailant's voice, but he could tell it was a female classmate.

"Drop your weapons," the other person ordered, "Then put your hands over your head."

Genji did as he was told and deposited his submachine gun and revolver onto the ground. Then he put his hands onto his head and crossed his fingers. While he was nervous, he did not panic. Even under the tension of this sudden unpleasant situation, he was determined to keep a level head.

"Stand up," the girl demanded.

"Okay, okay," he remarked, disguising his voice again. He slowly rose to his feet and told her "I'm cooperating here.

The girl said nothing in response. She kept one hand on her revolver and use the other one to frisk Genji. All she could find in his pockets were some bullet casings and a flash drive. After coming up with nothing notable, she told him "Kick away your guns. Then turn around. Slowly."

Genji gently used his feet to push away his firearms. Then he gradually turned his entire body around until he was face-to-face with the other person. That was when he discovered he was being held up by Eiko Hirakawa (Girl #17).

In addition to her revolver, she had a submachine gun slung around her shoulders. She was grinning maliciously at him, as if she was enjoying herself. Truth be told, she was.

As he faced Eiko, Genji began studying her for any potential weaknesses. He was hoping to find a blind spot or an opening on her. As he did, she commented "Very good. Now… take off your hood."

"Why?" Genji queried.

"I want to make certain you're not wearing a bulletproof mask or anything beneath that hood," she explained.

"Bulletproof mask?" he scoffed, "Are you serious, Eiko?"

"Does this gun look serious?" she replied, taking a step closer to him, "Take it off. Now."

Genji just nodded his head. Then he unlocked his fingers and brought them to the sides of his hood. He gripped them in his palms and began to pull back his hood. He did this very slowly. Just before it was all the way off, he noticed Eiko's grip on the revolver was loose and unstable. That was just what he needed to turn the situation around.

The moment his hood was off, he lunged forward, grabbed the front of Eiko's revolver, and struck her on the face. Almost immediately, she groaned, collapsed onto her back, and drifted into unconsciousness.

Genji smiled evilly down at Eiko and pointed the revolver at her head. He stated drily "Never underestimate a masked man."

But just before he pulled the trigger, he got a good look at the gun. It only took him a moment to identify it as a Colt Peacemaker. When he did this, he froze. He remembered that when he first stumbled upon the gas station that afternoon, he had found several bullet casings next to Kazumitsu Hayashi's body. They were only compatible with certain types of revolvers, most notably the Colt Peacemaker series. He took one of the casings out of his pocket and held it next to the revolver. Then he flicked open the chamber to get a good look at the bullets inside the weapon. He compared them to the empty bullet casing and found that they were identical.

This implication stunned Genji. He turned to Eiko and whistled in amazement. At this time, he looked down at her not with contempt, but with some form of admiration.

Genji then remembered two other events from earlier that day. When he had found Ichiko Murakami dead in G-8, he had found a type of bullet casing. It belonged to a very distinct form of ammunition; one that was only used on Swedish revolvers. Genji then recalled that when Blaine showed up at the hotel, he had been totting a Swedish revolver.

With all these realizations in mind, Genji began forming an idea in his head. He put the bullet casing back in his pocket and flipped the revolver's hammer back up. Then he tucked it into his belt. After this, he gathered up all his supplies and drew his hood back up. Once he was done with this, he looked back down at Eiko. He kneeled down next to her, put his arms under her head and legs, and picked her up. While Eiko was one of the tallest female members of the class, Genji was strong enough to carry her and all her materials.

"Come on," he uttered quietly, even though she was out cold, "We shouldn't stay out in the open. Let's get you to the fire department."

With regards to Eiko, Genji had a unique plan in mind for her. At first glance, some would consider this plan to be anything but cautious.

However, Genji's plan had a great many details and it went very deep in thought. He had a practical goal in mind. If he ended up achieving the goal, his plan would actually be one of the most brilliant and cunning things he had ever done, as well as one of the most cautious steps he was taking to win the Program.

**Boy #4 Michio Ueno – Dead**

**23 Students Remaining**


	30. Natural Inclinations

**Note: Isn't this a pleasant surprise? It's only been a week since my last update, but here I am with another chapter! Maybe this is a sign I'll be able to update on a weekly basis in the future. While I cannot promise anything, I will certainly try.**

**Once again, I'd like to convey my thanks to 8bitmatter. On that subject… WOW. I'm guessing you REALLY didn't like Michio. I guess it's a good thing I had planned for him to die the way he did from the beginning. I'm glad to know that the last chapter was probably your favorite so far. I'll take that as a sign that I should keep doing what I'm doing!**

**By the way, I like the way you think. I admire your frequent usage of high-level vocabulary words; many of them are indicative of an intelligent, well-advanced terminology. However, at times, some of your words seem a little out of place. For example, when you described my portrayal of Genji in the last chapter, you observed him as not "all that spry, subtle, clandestine…" "Spry" would be appropriate here, but I'm not certain "subtle" or "clandestine" would. That segment almost reminded me of myself from my early teens when I often used a thesaurus to look up less-used synonyms to common, everyday words. I primarily did that to appear smart. For a while, it seemed to do so, but I stopped doing it when I tried it on some of my school assignments.**

**Also, I think it's interesting how you compare Eiko and her approach to Jack Bauer and his tactics. For the past three chapters, I've actually been watching 24 while I've been writing. You see, when I write a chapter, I have a Microsoft Word document on the right side of my laptop's screen and Netflix on the left side of it. It's actually a quite efficient system. Also, now that I think about it, I suppose most of the previous chapters have each taken place over the course of an hour, as well. I guess a bit of the show is starting to rub off on me as I write this story.**

**Oh, and on the subject of Eiko, I think you'll really like what I have in store for her. It won't be revealed in this chapter, or the next one, but the chapter after next. Most of that chapter will be reserved for her and Genji.**

**On we go!**

Before this day, there had been three couples in Class 3-A.

Several hours earlier, Osamu Sano and Reika Fujihara had started regarding themselves as an item. Although they were the only ones who were aware of their new bond, one could argue that they had ample qualifications to constitute another couple.

Of the four pairs, Osamu and Reika were the only ones who had slept together before they officially decided that they were in this type of relationship with each other. However, this did not necessarily mean that they were the only ones to have had intercourse together. In fact, they were the third couple to have done the deed since the beginning of the Program.

The first couple had been Mamoru Niwa and Yasuko Oomori. The two of them had slept together before the morning announcements. They had done this so they could have one last blissful moment with each other before they ended their own lives. Like Osamu and Reika, that had been their first time, as well.

However, both members of the second couple had lost their cherry long before the Program. They had actually slept together twice that day: once in the late morning and once in the early evening. This was the couple composed of Fumitaka Hirata (Boy #17) and Akina Kikuchi (Girl #8).

After they killed Namiko Abe and Rumi Hakugi, the two of them had headed into the western apartment complex. They had spent about an hour looking for other members of the class. This proved to be much easier with the tracker they had taken from their first victims.

Once the first hour of exploration was over, the two of them had decided to stop at one of the apartments in J-2 and take inventory of all their supplies. They also stopped for a quick tryst, which ended a few minutes before Teru Machida had hacked into the loudspeaker network. They had stayed around to listen to the song, but left the apartment immediately afterwards.

They spent the next nine hours searching the surrounding areas for more of their classmates. Their findings there were not very promising, as every single road turned up a proverbial dead end. After a while, they were beginning to wonder if they actually would encounter anyone else in the game. They speculated the possibility that all the other participants would simply end up killing each other and leave them alone with Blaine. But they highly doubted that they would be that fortunate.

It was not until five o'clock that they finally picked up another signal on the tracker. This happened when they stepped into H-2, and they went to work locating the source. However, when they arrived on the site, all they found was Kazuki Chikuda lying in the street with his brains blown out the back of his head. As Akina and Fumitaka knew full well, he had been dead almost since the start of the game. So this discovery turned out to be another dead end.

They spent the next two hours investigating the zone to make certain they had not overlooked anything. They decided to take a break from their hunt after the evening announcements. So they took shelter in another apartment in H-2 and eat some rations. After having some bread and water, they explored their temporary hideout a little further. To their pleasant surprise, this master bedroom had a king-sized bed in it. It did not take long for them to get out of their clothes and get comfortable.

After their second tryst was over, the two of them fell asleep in each other's arms. Despite everything that had happened that day, the two of them managed to have a peaceful slumber together. This slumber had lasted over four hours.

Currently, it was after eleven o'clock. At this time, Fumitaka was just waking up. He yawned loudly and stretched his arms over his head. He felt well-rested and ready to get back into the action. He hoped that Akina was ready, as well. He turned to his left, expecting to find her lying next to him. However, she was not there.

Inititally, Fumitaka was perplexed that the bed was empty. He became a little concerned when he noticed that Akina's clothes were absent, as well. But when he looked up, he noticed that there was a light emanating from the bottom of the door. That set Fumitaka's mind at ease. Akina was not gone; she must have been in the adjoining bathroom.

Fumitaka gathered up his clothes off the ground and began getting dressed. He pulled on his boxer shorts and his uniform pants. As he slid the head of his belt through its buckle, he stood up and walked over to the bathroom door. He fastened his belt with one hand and knocked on the door with the other. He called out "Akina, you in there?"

A moment later, she responded with "Yeah. I'll be out in a few minutes."

"What are you doing?" he inquired.

"Just… freshening up," she claimed, "I want to touch up my makeup."

Fumitaka scoffed and stated "Really? At a time like this?"

"Hey, we've been out on the streets all damn day," Akina reminded him, "I was starting to feel a little unclean. Plus, if we're going to be constantly monitored by the government, I at least want to look good on national television."

"You shouldn't worry too much about that," he told her, leaning against the wall, "People watch this show for action, not for visual appeal. Most of them aren't going to care about our appearance as long as some of us are covered in red. Besides, you're plenty gorgeous the way you are."

Akina chuckled and commented "Thank you for saying that, Fumi. But still, I just looked in the mirror. I'm an absolute fright. I guess I've been sweating so much that my makeup has smeared. I at least want to look fine for you."

"Alright, I can understand that," Fumitaka remarked. He walked back over to the bed and sat down on the right side of it. He gathered up the rest of his clothes and continued getting dressed. Once he was back in his uniform, he took his rifle and examined it. He discovered that it had accumulated a bit of dust from its lack of use in the past several hours. He figured that the rifle would need constant maintenance, given how old and outmoded it was. He took a rag out of his backpack and began cleaning his rifle.

While Fumitaka and Akina could often be cold towards most of their classmates, no one could doubt their devotion to each other. However, they had not always been this close. In fact, their first meeting had been far from pleasant.

A few weeks before they began the seventh grade, the two of them had visited the Keio University campus. Like many of the new students, they were there to familiarize themselves with the school in preparation for when classes began. Akina was there by herself, but Fumitaka was there with Wataru Koumura. Both of them had been friends in elementary school, and they were both athletes.

The three of them happened to visit the library at the same time. Wataru and Fumitaka were there to pick up some books they would need throughout the year. Akina's parents had already picked up her books; she was merely there to browse. At one point, Fumitaka and Wataru were carrying some short stacks of books at the depository in the back, and Akina had been in an aisle glancing through the shelves. These two areas were perpendicular to each other. After Wataru and Fumitaka collected up their books, they walked alongside the depository. At the same time, Akina made her way down the aisle. In other words, they were on a direct intercept to each other.

Sure enough, when Akina reached the end of the aisle, she collided with Wataru and Fumitaka, causing both of them to drop their books.

"Hey, watch it!" shouted Wataru in irritation.

"Oh my, I'm really sorry," Akina told them, kneeling down to help the boys collect their books. She offered "Here, let me help you."

Fumitaka sharply rebuked her with "No, thank you! We don't need **your **lousy help!"

Akina backed off and retorted with "No need to be such an asshole."

"Who's the bigger asshole?" remarked Wataru, "The guy who drops his stuff or the person who carelessly causes that guy to drop it?"

Akina stood up, scowled down at them, and snapped back "On second thought, I'm not sorry, and screw you both!"

All three of them ended up getting kicked out by the librarian.

Normally, Wataru and Fumitaka would not have been this hostile. They simply had a lot on their minds at the time. They had a great deal of work that needed to be done, and they reacted impulsively and aggressively because of their stress.

A couple weeks later, things had settled down. Wataru and Fumitaka had managed to get all their work finished. Soon came the day of the orientation for the new seventh graders at Keio Shonan-Fujisawa Junior High. Wataru had arrived an hour early to get situated.

He decided to wait in the cafeteria while he waited for Fumitaka. About a minute after he arrived there, he spotted Akina sitting at a table by herself. He was surprised to have seen her there. But secretly, he was a little glad to see her. He had actually began to feel a little guilty about how he and Fumitaka had treated Akina. He wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to patch things up with her.

He had tentatively approached her and stated "Hello."

She slowly looked up and gazed at him. Then she looked back down at her papers and flatly replied "Hello."

"May I speak with you?" he requested.

"I suppose," she said indifferently.

Wataru sat down across from her and said "I realize my friend and I were not very… cordial to you."

"I should say not," she agreed.

"That's why I want to apologize," he told her.

Akina paused, looked up, and asked "What was that?"

"We had a lot going on back then," he explained, "I know that doesn't excuse our actions, but I hope we can let bygones be bygones."

Akina thought about this, and then stated "You strike me as a reasonable type, so I assume your friend is also reasonable. If he apologizes, too, I'll forgive you both."

"Okay, I'll wait for him to arrive," Wataru told her, "We'll meet you back here when orientation is over."

Akina agreed to this proposition.

Wataru met up with Fumitaka a few minutes before the program began. When he brought up Akina, Fumitaka was initially unwilling to have anything to do with her. He seemed to be very firm on this position. However, Wataru managed to talk him into it. He mainly did this by arguing how important it was not to make any unnecessary enemies when coming to a new place and trying to leave a good impression on everyone.

After the orientation ended, Wataru and Fumitaka met back up with Akina in the cafeteria. Fumitaka quickly apologized for being so rude to her. She gladly accepted his apology.

The three of them then spent a while talking about various topics, such as their interests and their ambitions. At one point, Fumitaka stated "There's something I'd like to know. Every time we come across you, you're always by yourself. Why is that?"

Some would find this to be an inappropriate question, but Akina was alright with giving an honest answer. As it turned out, she had been the only person from her elementary school that had applied to Keio Shonan-Fujisawa Junior High. She was so often alone because she did not know anyone there.

"If you want, you can hang out with us," Wataru offered.

"We know some good people," Fumitaka added in, "We can help you fit in."

Akina deviously smirked and told them "So, you two guys and me? I've never tried that, but I like the **sound** of it."

Fumitaka and Wataru could not help but laugh at this joke. Obviously, Akina was not shy, but she was very adamant.

For most of the seventh grade, the three of them made a close-knit trio. The three of them became involved in various school activities. They each participated in a sport. Wataru joined the rugby team, Fumitaka joined track, and Akina actually joined the swim team. Secretly, both of the boys thought she was an absolute knockout in a bathing suit.

Near the end of seventh grade, Wataru became the captain of the junior high rugby team. After this, he started hanging out with Akina and Fumitaka much less. After a while, it was just the two of them.

At first, they were dismayed that Wataru was too busy to socialize with them. With him out of the picture, they mostly only had each other for close company. However, before long, this turned out to be a good thing.

They both got to know each other on a much more personal level. They were both at the age when the human body starts to sexually mature. As they were both athletes, their bodies had numerous physical advantages with regards to their appearance. Maturity improved these features even further.

By the beginning of the eighth grade, it became common knowledge that the two of them were together. A few days after finishing the eighth grade, their relationship escalated a little further than just dating and kissing.

On this day, Akina had invited Fumitaka to her house. He assumed he wanted him to have dinner with her and her parents. He liked the idea; both of them had eaten over at each other's house a few times, and they were on good terms with each other's parents.

However, when Fumitaka arrived at Akina's house, he was surprised to discover that nobody else was there. He found Akina in her bedroom, in the process of getting undressed. He was a little embarrassed to have walked in on her like that, but she reassured him and invited him right in. It did not take her long to get him to start undressing.

This marked the night of their first sexual encounter. Ever since that night, they had slept with each other on at least a dozen different occasions. They liked to boast about this at school, but they made certain no one outside of their classmates knew about it.

Of course, now that they were surrounded by cameras, everyone in Japan the full nature of their relationship. This most likely included their parents. However, they did not care an inkling about this possibility. It was the least of their worries.

After spending about ten minutes polishing his rifle and its bayonet, Fumitaka gazed at the bathroom door and asked "You almost done in there?"

"No, it may be a while," Akina answered him.

"Alright, take as long as you need," he told her, "I'll be right out here if you need anything."

"Got it," she replied.

Fumitaka assumed Akina was still working on her makeup. But this assumption was just as incorrect as the assumption he had made on the night of their first sexual experience.

Up until this point, Akina actually had been fixing her makeup. She had finished this action a moment earlier. At this time, she was busy with a much different task. She was leaning against the counter, holding a small box in her hands. She had found this box in a cabinet above the sink.

It is important to note that while Fumitaka and Akina were sexually active, they had never utilized protection. They had never used condoms, pills, or anything of the sort. They found birth control to be a waste of money, as well as very unnecessary and a little immoral. They were simply confident they would never encounter any consequences for their actions.

But Akina was over a week late for her menstrual cycle. She knew her cycle like clockwork; it always came at the same time of the month. She had a few theories for this: stress, tension, or an unprecedented discrepancy.

However, she knew full well what the most likely theory was. That was why she needed the box in her hands.

It was a pregnancy test kit.

While she did not like thinking about this option, she knew there was a decent chance it was the actual reason. She also could not dismiss it without evidence. At this time, the test was the only way she could confirm or deny the possibility that she was pregnant. She decided to keep this matter to herself because she did not want to worry Fumitaka. At least not needlessly.

Akina slowly opened up the box and took one of the tests out. Then she followed the instructions on the box to properly use the test. Once she did everything she needed to do, she stood up, leaned back against the counter, and stared down at the test.

She anxiously waited a long while for it to yield its results.

…

Shizuye Chida (Girl #14) felt incredibly lost. In two profound ways.

In the first way, she was under the impression that she was literally lost. It had been hours since she left the apartment in J-1. She had spent all that time roaming the streets, searching for her friends. However, she had yet to move further than a mile away from her previous hideout.

A couple hours after she began moving through the streets, Shizuye started to undergo instances of déjà vu. These experiences became more numerous and more severe as time went on. She started to forget what was familiar and what was new. Before long, every street and apartment appeared to be exactly the same. Every time she passed into a new block, she could have sworn it was still the last block she had just been through.

After a while, her mind was not actually playing tricks on her. At one point, she had lost track of her position, and she ended up following the same route several times over. She was walking in circles without realizing it. She even sensed the need to question the authenticity of her map after a while.

It was not long before her stress started taking its toll on her brain. It left her feeling dizzy, disoriented, and surrounded. The apartment complex soon made her believe she was stuck in a sprawling maze with no entrance or exit.

This concept made Shizuye even more uneasy than usual. She began to think of the Program as essentially a prison, and she and her classmates were the inmates.

There were many more connections to validate this analogy: They were confined to a particular area by fences, the guards would not hesitate to use deadly force to keep them in line, everyone on the inside was to be treated as a potentially dangerous person, and only the most fortunate would not spend the last moments of their life there.

The only differences were that in a normal prison the convicts were not expected to kill each other off, and their activities were not broadcasted on live television for all to witness. Oddly enough, these two contrasts could incite one to favor prison over the Program. Shizuye was absolutely stunned by the irony in this notion.

In the second way of feeling lost, Shizuye thought she was losing her mind. The pressure of misplacing herself in the apartment complex was not the only source of the tension she was under. After spending so much time outside and coming up with no signs of any of her classmates, she developed a strong feeling of paranoia.

She found it remarkably abnormal that the Program had been going on for almost an entire day and she had still not encountered anyone this far into it. She got the idea that she was being watched by an unseen hostile. This only made her even tenser.

Although she still had her revolver out, carrying it did not make her feel any more confident in her chances of survival. Every moment, she expected someone larger, stronger, and more heavily armed than her to jump out around a corner and ambush her.

At first, these suspicions made Shizuye feel relieved that she had not encountered anyone. While her fear of being alone surpassed all her other phobias, solitude was much more preferable to her than the company of a malevolent aggressor. She had always held this stance.

However, during her fifth hour of wandering the streets, she reevaluated her position on this matter. It had been almost hours since she last interacted with another soul. She had never been alone for this long. Every additional minute she spent isolated just left her feeling more nerve-wrecked.

At the start of the Program, the only people Shizuye desired to come across were Chiaki, Yuriye, and Tomoe. As far as the rest of her classmates were concerned, she wanted nothing to do with them.

Now it was a much different story. At this point in time, Shizuye would have been content with having anyone for company. That was how desperate she was to end her loneliness. To most people, this would have seemed like an extremely outrageous, idiotic, or naïve wish for one to have in the Program. But it would be unfair for these people to judge Shizuye without knowing her thought process. She was not oblivious or uninterested in the danger at hand. She did not even know why she was so afraid of being alone. It had simply been a pathological fear of hers throughout her entire life. No matter how hard she or those who loved her tried, she could not break herself of this fear. She needed other people around to retain her sanity.

Around a quarter after eleven o'clock, Shizuye stopped aimlessly traversing through the streets and took a moment to collect herself. She was on the verge of a serious freak out, and she felt there was nothing in the world that could prevent it. Nothing except another human being.

She buried her face in her hands and muttered quietly "Someone, find me. Please."

"Wish granted," came a heavy masculine voice.

Immediately after this, someone seized Shizuye from behind. Before she had time to fight back or defend herself, she was overpowered and both her arms were forced against her sides.

She opened her mouth to scream, but her attacker gripped her by the throat and threatened through gritted death "Make so much as a sound, and you're dead."

Shizuye promptly shut her mouth and stopped struggling. Once her assailant had her cooperation, he firmly ordered her "Give me your weapon. Nice and slowly."

She gradually raised her right arm into the air and let her M500 dangle from her index finger. When her hand was level with her shoulder, her assailant confiscated her weapon.

"Very nice," he remarked in approval as he studied the revolver, "How much ammo do you have?"

"I've got three cases in my supply pack," she fretfully informed him, "Go ahead and take them. I'll give you anything you want; just please don't hurt me."

At that, the boy scoffed and stated "Why would I do that? You're what I was really after. This gun and the rest of your possessions are purely a supplementary bonus."

Shizuye was surprised to hear this. She gazed over her shoulder and asked "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You'll figure out soon enough," he told her. He spoke serenely, but nothing about his words or tone of voice gave Shizuye any indication that she would be alright.

"Put your arms behind your back," he commanded her.

Shizuye hesitantly obeyed him and put her hands together behind her. Her attacker then pulled a long, heavy object of his supply pack. It was a two-meter steel chain, which he used to bind Shizuye's wrists together. She became jittery as she felt the cold, metallic links being wrapped around her.

Tying a knot with the chain proved to be a bit of a challenge, but the attacker managed to get it done. He actually did not need even half the chain to tie Shizuye up. Once he was finished, he took onto the remainder of the chain in his free hand and held a firm grip on it. With his other hand, he poked Shizuye in the back with her revolver, as if to nudge her forward. Then he firmly told her "Start walking."

Shizuye was left feeling extremely confused by this person's actions. For a brief moment, she put aside her fear and bluntly demanded "What the hell is going on?"

"You're coming with me," he enlightened her, "It's as simple as that."

"So… you're not going to kill me?" she reasoned, a bit of hope in her voice.

In response to this, her assailant gave a very amused chuckle. Shizuye found his laugh to be quite troubling and unpleasant. It was the type of laugh she had only heard from people who had malicious deeds in mind.

Her attacker then jerked the chain back once, forcing Shizuye to turn around and face him directly. Although it was the middle of the night, she managed to make out his face. When she saw who he was, she felt a shiver run down her spine.

Her assailant turned out to be Akiyo Furukawa (Boy #18).

A very disturbing grin came across Akiyo's face. He expounded to her "No, Shizuye… I'm not going to kill you. I have something much better in mind. I wouldn't be able to do that if you're dead. After all, I'm not into necrophilia."

"Akiyo… please… don't do this," she pleaded frantically.

"Just keep your mouth shut, and I won't do anything worse," he warned her. Then he pointed her gun at her forehead and sharply instructed her "Now start walking."

As much as Shizuye dreaded being anywhere near Akiyo, she had no choice but to submit to him. After all, her hands were tightly bound with a chain he was holding, he had a gun aimed at her, and if she tried to run away, he could easily catch her. So for the present, she decided to give into his demands. She turned around and began making her way down the street. Akiyo followed her closely behind, his eyes focused on her every move.

As she walked, Shizuye cursed her dreadful luck. She had fallen into the hands of the last person any self-respecting female student in Class 3-A wanted to be stuck with. She did not even want to think about what Akiyo planned to do to her.

However, despite the hopelessness of the scenario, there was still one minor perk to this unfortunate event: Shizuye had been virtually cured of her fear of solitude. Never in her life had she so strongly desired to be alone than at this time.

…

Toshirou Oosaki, Yuuga Suzuki, Chiaki Iwasaki, and Gakuto Yamashita had continued investigating the gas station until about twenty minutes after eleven o'clock. Around that time, they started getting the impression that they had spent enough time in the area.

"We probably shouldn't stay here much longer," Chiaki remarked.

"I tend to agree," Toshirou stated, "After all, we've pretty much found anything that could be of use to us."

"Which isn't much," Gakuto added in, "Then again, reconnaissance is more or less the only reason we all came here anyway. So it may indeed be best for us to move on soon."

"Where do you think we should go?" queried Chiaki, "Do you think we should meet up with Osamu and Reika?"

"No, they're at least five miles away from our current position," Gakuto thought aloud, "There's no way we'd reach them before the next announcements."

"I say we should still find a place to lie low for a while," Toshirou advised.

"That's a smart idea," Gakuto concurred, "Let's take a look at the maps. Maybe there's a building nearby that would make an ideal hideout."

He and Chiaki quickly dug their maps out of their supply packs, and started examining the zones surrounding F-4. Chiaki was not certain what exactly to look for, so she was willing to consider any apparently safe location as a hideout. Gakuto, on the other hand, was much more selective, and he judged how safe all the nearby buildings were based on very specific factors.

"We're a little less than two miles away from the western apartment complex," Chiaki informed the others, "There is no shortage of potential hideaways there."

"That's too far away," Toshirou countered, "And going there will just put more space between us and Osamu and Reika. We'll need someplace closer to the city center."

"And I think I may have just the place," Gakuto announced. He turned to his classmates and told them "Guys, come take a look at this."

Yuuga, Toshirou, and Chiaki gathered around him and curiously looked over his shoulders. He directed their attention towards a building in G-5 labeled "Laboratory."

"What's so special about that place?" inquired Chiaki, "It looks a little too large for four people to secure."

"She's right," Toshirou agreed, "Aside from that, there aren't any other buildings within a hundred meters of the laboratory. It would be easy for anyone close-by to spot us on our way there."

"I know it may seem questionable," Gakuto admitted, "But hear me out for a moment, guys. Once we reach the compound, nobody else would be able to reach it without us noticing them. We'd have an unobstructed field-of-vision from every angle. That's something most other buildings can't give us. In addition to this, a typical laboratory is heavily fortified, durable, and has a military-grade defense mechanism."

"Is the mechanism online right now?" asked Chiaki.

"Most likely not," Gakuto speculated, "But that's a good thing; that would make it much easier for us to get in there. Once we're inside, we can try to reactivate the mechanism. If we can, we'll be able to make it impossible for anyone to get even close to the place."

Toshirou raised an eyebrow in interest and remarked "This lab sounds like a fine arrangement, Gakuto. The lab's got my vote."

"Mine, too," stated Chiaki.

The three of them turned to Yuuga, as if they were waiting on his opinion. He decided to take a minute to ponder on the possibility before giving his opinion. Ultimately, he nodded his head and commented "I suppose it's as good a place as any."

"Then it's settled," Gakuto decided, turning to his colleagues, "We'll head there."

"Just a moment, Gakuto," Yuuga interjected, "While it does look promising, are you absolutely certain we can rely on it?"

Gakuto merely nodded his head and told him "Believe me, Yuuga. This is **exactly **the type of place we'd want to be. We may encounter a few impediments along the way, but they would be well worth the benefits. Also, if this is the laboratory I **think **it is, we'd have an even more compelling reason to be there."

"What do you mean?" asked Chiaki.

"I'd explain here, but we'd be spending too much time out in the open," Gakuto responded, "It also wouldn't be wise to go into detail while we're stationary. So I'll tell you on the way there."

The others agreed to this proposal. The four of them gathered up their bags and departed from the vicinity. They moved through the streets in an orderly fashion.

Gakuto stood at the center of the group. He had his flashlight in one hand and his map in the other. He was primarily focused on the group's location, but he was also prepared to draw his revolver at a moment's notice. Toshirou stood a few feet in front of him, keeping his eyes open for anything suspicious in the group's path. Chiaki and Yuuga trailed at the back to make certain no one was watching them from the sidelines or following them from the way they came.

The laboratory was a little more than a mile southeast of the gas station. When the group was about halfway there, Chiaki got a little closer to Gakuto and called out to him "So, Gakuto, what precisely is this personal interest you have in this place?"

Gakuto momentarily gazed up from his map, looked in her direction, and replied "Have you ever heard of Junichi Honda?"

Chiaki thought about this question, and she answered a few seconds later "You mean that famous scientist? Yeah, I remember seeing him on the news once."

"Only once?" Gakuto wittily remarked, "He's made at least eight different appearances on television, and I've watched every one of them. I've also read every article, every book, and every experiment he's ever published. If a newspaper clipping has as much as his name in it, odds are I've read that clipping as well. The guy's like an idol of mine, and he's the one who's responsible for my deep-seated interest in chemistry."

"That's fascinating, Gakuto," Toshirou admitted, "But what does this have to do with the laboratory?"

"Every major scientist has his own laboratory" Gakuto pointed out, "Doctor Honda is no exception. I've read all about his. It's like a fuckin' landmark. He had it constructed over a decade ago. It took two years to outline it, build it, and staff it. Once it was running, Doctor Honda put it to good use. He and his team conduct all of their most important projects from there. They've made quite a few scientific breakthroughs within those walls. But right now, I think you'd be most interested in the whereabouts of the compound. It happens to be located in the Saitama Prefecture."

"Gakuto, we could be anywhere in the Saitama Prefecture," Yuuga pointed out, "What makes you think the lab in this city is Honda's?"

"Earlier on, when Furutani mentioned Tamayo's death in the noon announcements, a certain detail caught my attention," Gakuto recounted, "He said something about how she had died in the residence of someone named 'Wakana.' He must have meant Wakana Higashikuni, the popstar. Tamayo once told me in passing that Wakana has a mansion in the Saitama Prefecture. When I looked at the map earlier, I noticed there was a mansion in B-8. I have reason to believe that mansion is indeed Wakana's."

"What good is that information to us?" queried Chiaki.

"A journalist named Satoshi Masuda once interviewed both Wakana and Doctor Honda," Gakuto explained, "Originally, he had intended to interview them separately, but he ultimately decided to do them together."

"Why did Masuda do that?" asked Toshirou.

"Some would say he did it to save time and money," Gakuto speculated, "Fortunately for him, Wakana and Honda were totally willing to have a joint interview. Turns out they were a bit of an admirer of each other's work. That took a lot of people by surprise, myself included. After all, who'd expect a chemist and a popstar to have anything in common?

"Anyway, I looked up the interview after it became available," he went on, "The only reason I read it was for Doctor Honda. I mostly skipped over Wakana's lines, but I recall she made a comment about inviting Honda over for dinner one time. I believe his exact response was 'Seeing as how your mansion is just a stone's throw from my lab, why not?'"

Chiaki, Toshirou, and Yuuga found this last statement to be particularly interesting.

"So, Wakana and Honda live in the same city?" stated Chiaki.

"Yeah, it must be this city," Gakuto concluded, "I'm certain that the mansion in B-8 is hers. With that in mind, the laboratory in G-5 must be his. I'll know whether or not it is when I actually see it."

"Now's your chance, Gakuto," Toshirou remarked. He held up his hand to signal the others to stop moving. They had arrived at a tall metal fence. About three hundred feet inside the fence, there was an enormous foundation. Toshirou pointed out the foundation and stated "That must be the lab."

Gakuto took another moment to study his map and thought aloud "According to the map, the only fenced-off areas within the city are the laboratory, the mansion, and certain sections of both the apartment complexes. We haven't walked long enough to reach the mansion, and we're nowhere near the apartments. Plus, neither of them are nearly as large as that building. So I think you're right, Toshirou."

"So how do we get in there?" asked Chiaki. With the aid of her flashlight, she noticed that the top of the fence was lined with barbed wire. After making this discovery, she informed the others "We can't climb over."

"Got your entrance right here," Gakuto answered, shining his flashlight on a section of the fence. This turned out to be a gate. However, there was a padlock fastening the gate in place. But it would take more than that to keep them out. Gakuto turned to Toshirou and offered "Care to do the honors?"

Toshirou smirked and said "Gladly."

He stepped forward, kneeled in front of the gate, took out a bent paperclip from his pocket, and inserted it into the lock. He fiddled around with it for a while before he heard a click sound. When that happened, he pulled the paperclip back out, removed the padlock, and tossed it aside. Then he pushed the gate open, turned to the others, and gestured for them to get inside.

Once they were all inside the perimeter, they hurriedly dashed across the open field. It took them less than a minute to reach the building. When they got there, they navigated their way around the foundation until they found the main entrance. As they predicted, it was locked.

"The alarms have been disabled, but the security seal is in place," Gakuto announced as he examined the front doors. "We can't break through doors or windows either; this type of facility would have shatterproof glass."

"Then how do we get in?" asked Chiaki.

"Leave that to me," Toshirou assured her. He then removed his skewers from his belt and turned his attention to the keypad on the door handle. He used his skewers to score the exterior plate of the keypad, and once it was loosened, he used his thumbs to pry it off. This allowed him access to the circuitry inside the keypad.

"I'll need some light," he told the others. He turned to his female member of the group and requested "Chiaki, can you hold your flashlight here?"

"Certainly," she complied. She stepped closer to the doors and shined her flashlight over the opened keypad. Toshirou began sorting through the wires. There were dozens of them, but he knew what to do with each of them. His experience in crime had made him an expert in slicing through all sorts of locks. He left most of the wires alone, but he either severed or cut the rest of them with his skewers.

About two minutes later, he stood up again and slid his skewers back into his belt. Then he tried the door's handle. To his delight, it turned without resistance. He smiled and commented "Looks like that did the trick."

Toshirou pulled the door towards him and held it open for the others. Gakuto entered first, followed by Yuuga and Chiaki. Toshirou went in last and closed the door behind him.

"Where to now, Gakuto?" said Chiaki.

"Every laboratory of this size has a control room," Gakuto answered her, "It would be best if we went there first. We'd have the greatest security and strategic advantages from that spot. Also, once I see the control room, I'll be able to know for certain if this is indeed Junichi Honda's laboratory."

"How do we get there?" enquired Toshirou.

Gakuto directed their attention to an object attached to the wall next to the entrance. He shined his flashlight over the object and they discovered it was a schematic of the entire foundation. He elucidated to them "The control room is right in the center of this building. This directory can take us right there."

The four classmates studied the directory for a few moments. Once they worked out what appeared to be the most direct route to the control room, they headed in.

Moving throughout the compound proved to be a bit of a difficulty for them. It was pitch black everywhere; even the emergency lights were offline. Gakuto explained that the facility's lights could only be activated from the control room. All they had to guide their path were their flashlights, but they only did them a bit of good. Every few seconds, they had to turn into another corridor. Since they were almost literally walking in the dark, they had to estimate the distance to the next turn. In addition to this, the only way they could keep track of their positions was through their memory. It would have been easy to get lost or separated.

Despite all these obstacles, they eventually arrived at a set of steel double doors. Gakuto then wrapped his free hand around one of the handles, turned to the others, and told them "Here it is. The moment of truth."

He slowly pulled the door open and stepped inside. A few seconds upon entering, he spotted a panel on the wall, full of scores of different knobs. Each one had a particular label under it, and most of these labels were names of rooms. It only took Gakuto a moment to recognize the panel as the facility's electricity mainframe.

He found the knob labeled "Control Room Lighting" and turned it clockwise. As he did, the area in front of him became perpetually brighter. When Gakuto could not turn the knob anymore, the space was entirely illuminated.

The control room was massive. There were at least fifty feet from the ceiling to the floor. The ceiling spiraled upward like a sphere, and the walls surrounded the room in a circular fashion. In the center of the room, there was a large desk on a ten-foot platform. There was a narrow staircase on each side of the platform, and each staircase connected to a walkway on the ground. These walkways divided the room into four different sections, and they formed a seventy-foot radius from the platform to the walls. The walls themselves were entirely devoid of windows. On the ground, there were rows of workstations, machines, and terminals. They were organized in the four sections of the room according to their various designated purposes. Along the bases of the walls were closets for storing equipment and materials. A large monitor was located further up the wall on the far end of the room. The room's only source of light turned out to be rows of fluorescents hanging from the ceiling. Lastly, there was a digital clock installed above the main entrance.

This was the exact layout Gakuto had expected to find.

"Is this it?" asked Yuuga.

The chemistry fanatic just grinned, triumphantly shook his fist in the air, and replied "Yeah, this is it! I've seen enough pictures of this room from Doctor Honda's newsletter to recognize it by sight. We're here, guys! Come on in!"

Chiaki, Yuuga, and Toshirou quickly stepped inside. The three of them were even more impressed than Gakuto was. They spread out around the room to give it a quick overview. It did not take long for them to confirm the place was secure. Once they were done, they each got settled in a different part of the room.

Toshirou leaned back in a chair and told the others, "I don't know about you guys, but I say we have a sense of perfect timing."

"Why's that?" inquired Chiaki.

In response, he pointed out the clock above the front entrance. It read 23:59.

Sure enough, a few seconds later, a familiar noise broke through the quiet atmosphere. The students took this as a sign to retrieve their maps and student lists.

The final announcement of the day was about to begin.

…

In the teacher's lounge at the school in C-5, Shigenori Furutani had retrieved his microphone from the table in front of his comfortable chair. He eagerly toyed around with it in his hands. He cherished having the ability to use the device. Whenever he did, those closest to him could hear him.

While all the students in Class 3-A thought of Furutani as nothing but a brutal, psychotic, and lecherous scoundrel, he was actually a rather respected man in his hometown. It was a small place; there was rarely very much excitement. Naturally, the Program had always been a huge pastime there. In fact, everyone there was given the option of leave from work to watch the live broadcasts of the game until it ended.

You can imagine how proud the residents would be with the knowledge that one of their neighbors played a critical role in the Program. He was viewed as a sort of celebrity there.

While Furutani appeared to be in his mid-thirties, he was actually in his late-forties. Ever since he graduated from college, he had been working for the government. While he made a decent politician, his specialty was in the field of interrogation. He had plenty of methods – several of them original and unpleasant – for gathering intelligence by any means necessary. He did his job without hesitation, without emotion, and without remorse. These qualities drew the attention of the people who ran the Program; they were the markings of an ideal instructor.

Furutani had been a federal agent for over twenty-five years. In those last six years, he worked part-time as the Program's primary instructor. This had made him a very popular man in his hometown. He had no shortage of friends there. Everyone knew him, and he knew all of them in return.

Furutani was also a family man. He had been married to his wife, Tamaki, for twenty-one years. They had two children: an eighteen year-old son named Ryou and a twelve year-old girl named Asami. They had always been the three most important people in his life.

The main reason Furutani had accepted the position of Program instructor was the money it offered. He only filled this role for about one month every year, but he earned three times more than he did annually as an interrogator. He had his family's future in mind when he made this money. Their wellbeing and future were what primarily motivated him.

However, his job came with drawbacks. Almost all federal agents of any country may have to put their families' safety in jeopardy. Furutani was willing to take this risk as an interrogator, but he had to face an even bigger threat as a Program instructor. This was the same dreadful possibility every Japanese citizen with children faced.

As long as a parent keeps a child enrolled in a Japanese junior high school, he or she must recognize the probability that his or her child will not come back from the class trip preceding their ninth-grade graduation. There were absolutely no exceptions for anyone whatsoever, including the people who ran the Program.

Furutani had no qualms watching other people's children butcher each other. If the situation called for it, he would even be willing to kill some of those children himself. However, he could not even bear to think about his own flesh and blood being in the game. While the chance of being selected was seemingly insignificant, it always had to be **somebody's** children.

Fortunately, his son Ryou had graduated from junior high school three years earlier. His class had not been selected, so he was out of danger. However, on the night before his superiors randomly selected the school for that year's Program, Furutani had stayed up all night, worrying that it might be Ryou's school. Obviously, as he learned the next day, it had not been the one.

In addition to this, his daughter Asami would be starting junior high in just a few weeks. Come the end of her ninth-grade year, Furutani would be confronted with the same worries again.

So far, he had been able to keep these concerns out of his head all day long. However, when he saw Genji Nishihara (Boy #14) temporarily break down on camera, Furutani had been reminded of his own vulnerabilities.

All the same, Furutani knew he had no time to display weakness; he had to appear rigid and indifferent to his colleagues and the audiences. So he cleared his head of these anxieties and focused on the situation at hand.

After receiving confirmation that the loudspeakers were on, Furutani raised his microphone and enthusiastically said into it "Good evening once again, my young warriors. Or perhaps good morning would be more appropriate; it is now midnight. We've come to the end of the first day of this year's Program. And what a day it has been! This is probably the best Program I've had the pleasure of overseeing yet! Now, I know it has been a very long day for all of you, and that most of you are exhausted, but bear with me just a few moments more. You can rest when I am finished."

Furutani stepped up to the table and gazed down at the modified Program Obituary. He slid the sheet of paper closer with his free hand, picked it up slowly, and held it up to get a good look at it. He spoke articulately "As usual, I will start by acknowledging the contestants who lost their lives since the last announcement. We begin with Boy #7, Kai Shuuichi-kun. Quite unfortunate he fell so soon; I was almost certain his vast familiarity with firearms would at least have gotten him through the first day. Based on the number of people who bet on him, I trust I wasn't the only one who thought that.

"Next, there is Girl #22, Watanabe Sayeko-san," Furutani went on, "I do not believe the last person on a Program's student list has ever won the game. With this in mind, I'm amazed she lasted so long, especially with her 'condition.' Can't say I'm very surprised that her condition was one of the reasons for her elimination. Girl #18, Fukumoto Kotoyo-san. I'll admit, I did not think much of her at first, but I came to somewhat admire her in the time since this morning. I look forward to seeing how what happened to her will affect those she was with. They may end up trying to take revenge on her killer… and probably fail in the process."

"Boy #1, Araki Daisuke-kun," the instructor continued, "His passing had a bit of a calamitous aspect to it, like something out of a Greek tragedy. It's not every day that a person can convince those closest to him to just let him go. Even though he virtually gave up, it is debatable that he still went down honorably. We conclude with Boy #4, Ueno Michio-kun. Despite his victory from earlier, I didn't have high expectations for him after he suffered that impairment. My compliments to the player who brought him down. It's always better in this game when the victims are given time to come to terms with their fate, just as he was."

Furutani paused to let this information sink in. Then he scoffed and stated "These five deaths bring the body count to a total of twenty-two. How do you like that? You met my expectations, as I told you last time to shoot for the class's halfway mark. Of course, with a rare odd-numbered list, it would be difficult to determine what constitutes half of you. I suppose if you leave out the exchange student, it would come to exactly half."

As Furutani set the Program Obituary aside, he proclaimed "Now I will disclose the next three danger zones. B-1 becomes one at 0100 Hours. E-6 turns at 0300 Hours. C-8 is forbidden at 0500 Hours. Make certain you remember this; I told you I have no sympathy for careless mistakes, and I'm certain the audiences back home don't either."

Furutani paused again and went on with "Half the class is gone, but as I said, the exchange student is still in the game. I've heard some rumors that he may be out for blood. Then again, I've heard similar rumors about several other participants. I would encourage the rest of you to revisit the new rule regarding your American classmate. He has yet to get as much as a scratch on his fair white skin. Now hear this: If you continue to refuse to consider this generous policy, my superiors could have it **revoked** altogether. That is not an idle threat; we can choose to return to the 'only one survives' rule at any time. Take **that **into account, if you would."

A moment later, Furutani concluded the midnight announcements with "The first day was more than satisfying. I hope the second day will be just as fulfilling. For those of you who have been on your feet all day, I would recommend you get some rest. Believe me when I say that you do NOT want to exhaust yourself. You were fortunate enough to survive yesterday, but there is no reason to believe that today will be any less dangerous. So as soon as you've regained your energy, get back into the game and keep up the good work. Good luck, and good morning!"

Furutani placed his microphone back down on the table as the loudspeaker network was brought offline. Then he returned to his comfortable chair and got settled. He soon noticed that several of the soldiers were looking at him strangely.

"Problem?" he inquired.

"Sir, are you serious when you say that you might take the new rule down?" stated one of the soldiers.

Furutani shrugged and responded "Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. It depends on how the game goes on."

"Pardon me for saying so, sir," commented another soldier, "But the people in charge would never agree to that. At least not without legitimate reason."

"I know that full well," Furutani assured him, "Just so you all know, I mostly said that to get the remaining participants riled up. It was essentially a bluff. However, it can still be done."

The other soldiers looked around at each other and merely shrugged. A third one stated "Very well, sir. We'll take your word. We apologize if we may have stepped out of line."

Furutani scoffed and said "Don't worry, gentlemen; you didn't. You were only voicing your concerns. In a scenario like this, we all have concerns. This applies to all parties involved."

The soldiers were satisfied to end the conversation there. They turned away from their supervisor and got back to work.

Furutani was in fact correct; almost everyone who had something to do with the Program – even the people watching it – had concerns about something. Furutani had his own concerns about keeping the audiences entertained and the action lasting. While they were important responsibilities, he was more than capable of balancing them both. Inwardly, Furutani just hoped he would never have to face the same concerns that the parents of all the surviving students in Class 3-A were facing at this time.

…

In H-2, Fumitaka Hirata was sitting up straight on the kind-sized bed in the master bedroom. He had his map and student list out on his lap. He held a pencil in his hands, which he used to mark off the new danger zones and the names he heard from the last announcement.

Akina Kikuchi was still in the bathroom, but she had left her supply pack in the master bedroom. So Fumitaka got out her map and student list and made the same modifications to them. He prudently thought it would be ideal for them both to have the same information on hand. Once he was finished, he put all the sheets of paper away in their respective supply packs and zipped the bags up.

Fumitaka then breathed in deeply and leaned back against the pillows on the bed. He thought about everything he had heard on the last announcement. He was a little nervous about the warning Furutani had given the class. Many members of the class either saw it as an empty threat or they just did not care.

However, Fumitaka was not willing to risk the rule's rebuttal. The new rule was the whole reason he and Akina had been able to work together without a modicum of uneasiness. If it was to be eliminated, they would be forced to make an impossible decision.

Fumitaka felt he and his girlfriend had rested long enough. He picked up his rifle and gripped it in both his hands. He then stood up straight and walked over to the dresser across the room. Akina's butcher knife was lying on top of the dresser, as well as Namiko's revolver and the tracking device. Fumitaka gathered them up and walked over to the bathroom door. He knocked on it and called out "Akina, did you hear all that?"

"Yeah, including that claim Furutani made," Akina responded.

"What do you think?" queried Fumitaka, "You think he's trying to deceive us?"

"That could be the case," Akina admitted, "But you can never be too certain with that sneaky bastard. It's equally possible that he's serious."

"Well, let's not risk finding out if he is," Fumitaka suggested, "We should get back out there as soon as possible."

"How come?" inquired Akina.

"I think Furutani would actually only terminate the new rule if he believes the game's becoming dull or tedious," Fumitaka figured, "As long as the excitement stays, he'll have no need to change anything. But at this point in the game, we shouldn't just rely on our classmates to keep the action going."

"I suppose you're right," Akina concurred, "Just give me one more minute."

Fumitaka scoffed and said "You've been in there for almost an hour. I'm pretty certain your makeup is fine."

"It's not my makeup, Fumitaka," she informed him, "I'm getting dressed in here."

"So what?" he cheekily remarked, "Why can't you do that out here? There's nothing I haven't already seen."

She snickered and said "Yeah, I know. I just prefer doing this in privacy."

"Okay, I'll be right here," he coincided. He leaned against the wall and waited for his girlfriend

A few moments later, Akina opened the door and stepped out. She looked up at her boyfriend and smiled. He smiled back and held out her butcher knife and the revolver. She received both of them, tucked the revolver into the waistband of her skirt, and held onto the handle of her knife.

Currently, the blade was as clear and stainless as it had been at the start of the game. But only a few hours earlier, it had been blemished with blood.

Incidentally, the tracking device was not the only thing that had driven Fumitaka and Akina to kill Namiko Abe and Rumi Hakugi.

When the two of them had indirectly witnessed the two girls murder Wataru Koumura, they both felt a little vengeful. While it had been a very long time since Akina and Fumitaka had socialized with the rugby captain, they both still regarded him as a good friend. After all, it was essentially thanks to him that the two of them had gotten together. They were glad to have avenged his death.

Of course, this did not mean Akina and Fumitaka would have teamed up with Wataru had he lived. While they had been a trio of friends once, the survival of more than two students in the Program would not have been possible. In a way, they were also a bit glad that somebody else had killed him. If they had been forced to kill him, they would have done so.

Fumitaka held his rifle in one hand and the tracking device in the other. He gazed down at the later and declared "There's nothing new in this area. It's still just you, me, and Kazuki. He's still out in the street, presumably rotting away."

"Too bad the collars' signals don't fade away after the wearer dies," Akina noted.

"Yeah, but I'd rather have a false lead than no leads at all," Fumitaka pointed out.

"That's a handy way of looking at it," Akina commented. She stepped out and asked "When should we leave?"

"As soon as possible," Fumitaka answered, "It's the middle of the night. If we move now, we'd be able to cover ground plenty of ground and locate anyone who's out there without exposing ourselves. We could also…"

Fumitaka abruptly stopped speaking. His face froze and his grin faltered. This caught Akina's attention. She asked him "What is it?"

He did not answer her. His gaze appeared to be fixated on something inside the bathroom. Akina looked over her shoulder and saw the reason for his sudden change in behavior. The pregnancy test kit was lying on the counter. The box was still open.

Akina cursed herself for so foolishly leaving the kit out in the open. When she turned back to Fumitaka, his eyes were now focused on her. He was giving her a very tense glare.

"Care to explain that?" he said this coldly and quietly, "Is this why you're late for your period?"

"That box was already there when I went in there," she casually claimed, "I swear, I found it that way."

"I'd like to believe that, Akina," her boyfriend remarked, "But I just thought of something. The only type of women who take forty-five minutes to put on a little makeup is the kind that think only of their own image. You're certainly not that type, so I highly doubt you were in there solely for that reason. Am I right?"

Akina did not answer him straight away. Then she let out her breath and told him "No, it only took me ten minutes to fix my makeup. I spent the rest of that time doing… something else. But I never touched that kit."

"Then why **were **you in here for so long?" asked Fumitaka.

"I'd rather not talk about it," was all his girlfriend told him. She hoped that would be enough, but knowing Fumitaka, that was very unlikely. So she quickly tried to think up a good excuse.

"Why not?" he stated.

"It's a private matter," Akina insisted.

"Akina, right now we're supposed to trust each other with our lives," Fumitaka pointed out, "How can we do that if you won't even tell me what you've been doing in there for the past hour?"

Akina had managed to come up with a good alibi by this point. She sighed and explained "Alright, I'll tell you. I don't deny I'm a week late. I would have had the same suspicion as you, but while I was in here, I actually had my period. It took me completely by surprise. Fortunately, I found a box of tampons in the cabinet. For obvious reasons, I didn't want to bring it up."

Akina tried her hardest to keep a straight face when she said this. With some difficulty, she managed to maintain her eye contact with Fumitaka. He stood in front of her and rubbed his forehead with his left hand. This was the hand that held the tracking device. After a moment of silence, he held out his hand and practically ordered her "Show me the tampon."

"What?" she retorted in shock.

"Show me the tampon," he repeated.

Akina made a disgusted face and stated "You've got to be kidding."

"No, I'm very serious, Akina," he guaranteed her, "I'm sorry if I sound unreasonable. That's not my intent. I want to trust you. All I'm asking for is an indication of the truth. Just show me one, and I'll let the matter go."

There was a long void of awkward silence. It ended when Akina rolled her eyes and said "Fine. If you insist."

She turned around, walked over to the trash can at the end of the room, reached down into it, and pulled something out. Then she walked back over to Fumitaka and held out the object for him to see. It was a used tampon.

"There, happy?" she snapped in annoyance.

Fumitaka got a good look at it and scoffed. Then he responded "Yeah, I am. You can put it back now."

Akina turned around, tossed the tampon back into the trashcan, and looked back at Fumitaka. She irately stated "Promise me you'll never ask me to do something that stupid again."

"You have my word that I won't," he assured her, "I'm sorry if you felt I was stepping out of line."

"'Stepping out of line?'" she remarked, "You made me feel like I was being probed. There was no need to act like such an asshole."

"Who's the bigger asshole?" he humorously leered, "The guy who requests reassurance, or the person who denies that guy his reassurance?"

Some would regard this as an insult, but Akina knew it was meant as a joke. She could not help but laugh when Fumitaka said this. He soon joined in.

When they were finished laughing, Akina seemed to be a little regretful. Fumitaka could not blame her, as that comment reminded both of them of Wataru. He had said something similar on the day the three of them had met. Subconsciously, they both still missed him.

Fumitaka noticed that Akina appeared to be bothered, so he quickly changed the subject. He went to collect their bags and picked them up off the floor. As he walked over to Akina, he asked her "You still ready to head back out?"

She quickly brightened up, took back her supply pack and backpack, slung them over her shoulders, and responded with "Ready as ever."

As Fumitaka slung his own bags over his shoulders, he asked her "Any particular place you have in mind?"

"Not really," she told him, "However, we should probably head further out into the city. I don't think many people are lingering here."

"If Kazuki's any indication, I'm inclined to agree," he stated.

"Yeah, he probably scared everybody else out of the area," Akina joked.

Fumitaka chuckled and said "Maybe so. But on a serious note, I like your first idea. Let's investigate the center of the city."

The two of them embraced and pecked each other on the lips. Then they left the master bedroom, headed towards the entrance, and slipped out into the streets.

As they walked, Fumitaka kept his attention on the tracking device. Akina, however, was focused on something much different.

She had a very close call back at the apartment. Fumitaka had come much too close to figuring out the truth.

The tampon in the trashcan was not hers. She had just found it there when she first arrived in the bathroom. She assumed the apartment's previous owner had used it not long before the city was evacuated. Akina was just grateful it had been there; it helped her avoid having an even more unpleasant conversation with Fumitaka.

Akina had her own reasons for keeping the pregnancy test a secret from Fumitaka. It was not that she was worried that he would be angry at her, beat her, or abandon her. He was not that type of man; he always took responsibility for his actions. Certainly, he could be callous to some people, but he always treated Akina with respect and adoration.

The actual reason she covered up the pregnancy test was because of how strong their bond was. Akina was worried that if Fumitaka knew about the test, he would become very overprotective of her. In this scenario, he would probably view such a thing as a liability to her safety. Akina believed Fumitaka would try to limit her involvement in the game, put all the burden on himself, and go to unnecessary length to keep her out of harm's way. She did not want this. She wanted to be able to protect and care for him just as much in return.

So for the present, she was going to keep quiet about the pregnancy test. She did not know when to tell him, but she could not evade it forever.

Of course, had the test turned up negative, she could have just let the issue go and never given it another thought.

However, Akina had held onto the specific test she had used. It was currently tucked into the pocket of her jacket. When Fumitaka was not looking, Akina pulled it out of her pocket and got another look at it. In a way, she was still trying to convince herself that she was reading it correctly. But despite her wish to disbelieve what she was seeing, she knew that turning away from the truth would be a futile and useless effort.

She just gazed down apprehensively at that light blue plus sign that had appeared in the center of the test.

**23 Students Remaining**


	31. Promising Outlooks

**Note: I'm writing this chapter while my family and I are taking a trip to Hawaii. How about that? Even when I'm on vacation, I never take a break from this stuff!**

**Thanks yet again to Rockythetigre and 8bitmatter. As usual, I'll address the concerning points you two made in your reviews.**

**Both of you have noted that Asayo is the only member of Class 3-A who has not made an appearance since the beginning of the game in Chapter 4. You should know that I've deliberately kept her in the dark. I plan for her to come around eventually, but it may still be a while before she makes her entrance into the game. That's not because I haven't worked out what I'm going to do with her (Believe me, I HAVE). It's because I have big plans concerning her role in the story, and with so much already going on in the Program right NOW, I think it would be best to wait to introduce Asayo's subplot.**

**You also made a note of Toshirou, and how even though he is a major character, he does not have a lot of backstory. Originally, I mostly planned to leave out the bulk of his background, but he seems to be a favorite of both of yours, as well as one of the more interesting characters. I suppose I could explain his history a little more sometime in the next couple of chapters.**

**I actually do have a specific part of the story planned for Furutani, but it won't go into further detail until the next announcement (which will be in about four or five chapters).**

**Rockythetigre, what you said about Shizuye being introduced in the last chapter was not entirely true. She actually made her first appearance in Chapter 25, just before Shuuichi was killed. That section was mostly about how she has pantophobia, the literal "fear of everything." With regards to how I mentioned there were four other students in Class 3-A in the school band, I'm not really certain if I ever decided who they were; only that they were among the casualties from the first three announcements. Most likely, Goro was one, as he was involved in a multitude of different clubs. Mamoru and Yasuko might have been in it as well, as I could imagine both of them participating. The last one actually could have been Kaminari. I'm not certain why. By the way, thanks for noticing how I alphabetized the student list in accordance with the Japanese alphabet. I chose to order the names that way so that it would be realistic.**

**8bitmatter, don't worry about length. There's no such thing as an "overlong" review, in my opinion (Unless, of course, it passes the character limit). I'm glad you enjoyed the scenes between Akina and Fumitaka. Now that I've brought them back into the story, they'll play a critical role over the next few chapters. You have an interesting way of describing Shizuye's predicament with Akiyo. Believe me, I am NOT look forward to writing the next section involving the two of them. By the way, I like the comment you made about how all my characters would despise me if they were self-aware. That's kind of like in South Park, whenever Kenny died and Stan and Kyle shouted "Oh, my God! They killed Kenny! You bastards!" I don't know if you know this, but Trey Parker and Matt Stone said in an interview that the boys were actually referring to Parker and Stone themselves, as a sort of indirect awareness of the power the creators had over the events of the show.**

**While I wouldn't really consider myself an "aspiring chemist," I do admit I greatly enjoy chemistry. It's my favorite science and I have extensive background knowledge about it. I took it for two years in high school; I had Chemistry Honors in my junior year and Chemistry Advanced Placement in my senior year. That was over two years ago, but I still remember plenty of interesting facts from both of those classes.**

"**Plebian such as myself?" Oh, don't be so hard on yourself! Everyone has potential to conceive and develop a gripping story. Most just need a hefty push to get their creativity out of them. Certainly, if you'd like, you can regard us as acquaintances, or friends in general. I've got plenty of friends on this site, and I've never even met most of them! I'd be happen to call someone who follows my stories so closely and reviews them so thoroughly a friend.**

**Alright then, onward and upward.**

Blaine Rhodes, Tatsuo Inoue (Boy #2), and Kiyomi Takayama (Girl #12) had been relatively passive for the first day of the Program. They had been staying off the streets, barricading themselves inside buildings, holding their weapons on standby, and observing the game from the center of the city. Case in point, they had confined all their activities to City Hall. They had not resulted to using force or violence against anyone.

Basically, all they had been doing was surviving. This approach had gotten them through most of the day, but it had not been a very productive use of their time.

After separating from Chiaki and Yuuga, the three of them had taken on a much more active method of survival. They had been lounging in City Hall for over half of the day, but ever since they left the hotel, they had been making up for their idleness. They had been all over the city in the past few hours. They moved rapidly through the streets, but they always stayed vigilant and alert.

The possibility that they could come across somebody or that somebody could have been watching them had occurred to Blaine, Tatsuo, and Kiyomi as well. As a precaution, they made certain they kept their weapons on full display. If there were any potential hostiles around, they were determined to let those people know that they were armed. They hoped that this gesture would encourage adversaries to stay away from them. If not, they would be willing to resort to violence. After all, they did not have their weapons out just for show.

In addition to this, they intended to use their guns for more than defense purposes. The primary reason they had been so active was that they were looking for one particular person. They planned to gun down one particular individual, regardless of whether or not that person attacked them first. Strictly speaking, they were not playing the game, but they were hunting for the hooded figure. Kotoyo's death had left Tatsuo, Kiyomi, and Blaine resolute about one thing: they were not going to let her killer go unpunished. Aside from that, the figure was an obstacle in their escape plan.

Every now and then, they stopped at a building and studied its exterior. If it looked as though it had been untouched since the city's evacuation, they moved on. If the building appeared as though someone had been there recently, they went inside to study the first floor. They only did this a handful of times, and every time they did, they marked the building as undisturbed and left it.

These had been the bulk of their actions. They hardly had a moment's rest in all that time. In fact, they had only stopped moving one time since they left the hotel.

Shortly before midnight, they had decided to find some shelter, as they wanted to be indoors for the upcoming announcement. Within a few minutes, they came across a barber shop in G-7. The place appeared to be peaceful from the outside, secure from the inside, and small enough for them to remain there without compromising their safety. So they headed into the shop and quickly settled in, but they did not get too comfortable. After all, they did not plan to be there for long. Blaine sat near the front desk, Tatsuo sat in one of the barber's chairs, and Kiyomi sat at the base of another chair.

As usual, they jotted down everything new they had learned from Furutani. As they expected, the casualty list had expanded and the danger zones had grown in number. But to Blaine, Tatsuo, and Kiyomi, the most notable aspects were the remarks Furutani had made about Blaine.

Following the midnight announcement, the three friends spent several minutes in silence. It ended when Tatsuo sighed and said "Well… we've made it through the first day."

"But some of our friends were not so lucky," Kiyomi remarked, "We've already been through so much today, just by keeping ourselves alive. We've barely had any time to worry about most of the others. Even so, it's difficult to believe that so many of them are dead."

"Yeah, and the fact that they're dead and we're alive is little comfort," Blaine commented, "I could tell right away that this game was disastrous, but I never thought it could lead to so much bloodshed **this **quickly. I mean, half the class is gone in just one day?"

"That's actually not rare," Tatsuo enlightened his best friend, "In almost all of these games, at least a third of the selected class does not survive the first day. Sometimes, a class is lucky if twenty students are still around by the first midnight announcement. In that regard, it would appear as though we've lucked out; almost two dozen of us are left. That would be considered a blessing to several of the previous classes. Of course, that doesn't make it any easier to accept the fact that half of our own is now gone."

"I can relate to that, Tatsuo," stated Kiyomi, "It's been a whole day since we saw Furutani kill Ms. Kawano, and I'm still trying to come to terms with the fact that **she **is dead."

"So am I," Tatsuo remarked, "Her death actually left a bigger impression on me than anybody else's."

"That's probably because she's the only person whose death we actually witnessed," Blaine theorized. He quickly added in "Other than Kotoyo's, that is."

"And – in Kiyomi's case – Ichiko's," Tatsuo noted.

Kiyomi slowly nodded her head and gazed at the wall in front of her. She realized that it had been hours since she had thought about the incident with the meat cleaver. She told the boys "Yeah, that's true. But guys, between you and me, I… I think I've gotten over Ichiko. I mean, she **was **going to kill me, and her death was an accident. I don't find myself feeling any more guilt over what happened to her. I hope that's not a bad thing."

"It isn't, Kiyomi," Blaine assured his girlfriend, "Right now, we don't have time to feel guilty. We only have time to feel angry. Anger gives us a reason to keep going. Guilt just gets in the way. We've all done things we regret, but we can't let them impair our judgment. Otherwise, I'd still be kicking myself for not shooting that hooded bastard in the head when I had the opportunity."

"No one was responsible for that, least of all you, Blaine," commented Tatsuo, "I hope you're not blaming yourself for it."

"I'm not, Tatsuo," Blaine told him, "I still wish we stopped him, but it would be insane to think that that wish could actually come true. For now, let's just hope it won't be long before we locate that guy. Every moment he keeps that flash drive away from us is another moment this game will go on."

"And the casualty list will just get longer while this game continues," Kiyomi thought aloud.

"Maybe we should embrace that concept a little more firmly," Tatsuo suggested, "Think of it this way: Unless we find that hooded figure, kill him, and recover Teru's flash drive, all but two of us will end on that list. That device could be the difference between life and death for the surviving half of the class."

"That's a good motivation," Blaine concurred, "Hopefully, it'll be enough incentive to get us to find that murderous piece of shit."

"Oh, I'm certain it will be, Blaine," Kiyomi told him, "Believe me, we'll find him, even if we have to search the whole fuckin' city for him. Not just for the flash drive, but for justice. He has to pay for what he did to Kotoyo and God-knows who else."

"Yeah, that guy's going down, one way or another," Tatsuo firmly remarked, raising his pistol, "The moment I see him, I'm going to put a goddamn bullet through his hood."

Blaine smirked wickedly and stated "That sounds fine to me, Tatsuo. That's something I'd really like to see. I wonder how useful that hood of his will be after we blow a huge hole in it."

"It probably won't do him much good at all," Kiyomi cheekily assumed, "Of course, this manhunt of ours would probably be a little more effective if we had a more specific target. If only we knew whose face was **under **that hood."

Tatsuo and Blaine could not argue with this point. As Furutani had observed in the previous announcement, Blaine and his friends actually were after blood. However, they were not exactly certain **whose **blood they were after. Chiaki had not revealed the culprit's identity to Yuuga until after the two of them had split off from Blaine, Tatsuo, and Kiyomi. Naturally, they were clueless as to the identity of their mysterious nemesis.

The three of them decided they could afford to spare some time speculating on who the hooded figure may have been. They had only encountered him on two different occasions: the episode at City Hall and the happenstance at the hotel. They tried their hardest to remember everything they could about him from those events. They tried to recall facets such as his height, his build, his approach, his voice, his manner of speaking, and his choice of words. They did not overlook anything; they treated every single detail as if it would help them discover who he was.

"He did seem to know an awful lot about guns," Tatsuo recounted, "We all know that Shuuichi was the top member of the school's marksman club. He had a more diverse knowledge of firearms than any arms dealer in the Kanagawa Prefecture."

"With that in mind, it would not have been unreasonable to suspect Shuuichi earlier on," Blaine told him, "Of course, for obvious reasons, we can't do that now."

"Yeah, because he was on the last announcement," Tatsuo reasoned out, "Not only that, but he was the first one mentioned. That means he died sometime before Kotoyo. That's more than enough to prove his innocence."

"Aside from that, Shuuichi didn't seem like the type of guy that would do such a thing," Kiyomi perceived, "Certainly, guns were something of a passion to him. But he never fired them at a person. He had a very strict policy about handling them with the utmost care."

"Okay, so Shuuichi's out," Blaine decided. He rubbed his chin and spent a few moments in deep thought. Then he stated "Back at the hotel, did you see how fast he moved from the lobby to the offices in the back? He covered a large distance in under twenty seconds. Even our bullets could not hit him when we shot at him. With all that in mind, it could have been Fumitaka."

"That's understandable," Kiyomi admitted, "Next to Tomoe, Fumitaka is the fastest member of our school's track team. That hooded figure was rather tall, as well. Fumitaka is one of the few people in the class who could match that height."

"True," Tatsuo acknowledged, "But there's one thing you should keep in mind about Fumitaka: his devotion to Akina. Even if he was willing to let the rest of us die, I am almost certain he would sacrifice his own life for his girlfriend. She'd definitely do the same for him. However, the guy in the sweatshirt sounded as though he was willing to kill **everyone** in the class, and that he planned to operate solo the entire time. That detail alone makes me feel that we can eliminate Fumitaka."

"I suppose you're right," Blaine agreed. He leaned backwards against the desk and inquired "Is there anyone else that would make a particularly compelling candidate?"

"What about Naozumi?" suggested Kiyomi.

"I said the figure was big, Kiyomi," Tatsuo humorously commented, "He wasn't **that **big. Besides, I don't think Naozumi could have pulled off those attacks. He isn't the combative type."

"I cannot dispute that," she retorted, "I'll admit I myself don't really think he could have done it. After all, this is Naozumi we're talking about. Most likely, he was with Daisuke for most of the day. On that note, I feel we can safely conclude that Daisuke was not the guilty party either, seeing as how he died right after Kotoyo."

"Alright then," Tatsuo agreed, "Who else could it have been?"

"Based on what we learned from Kotoyo and Chiaki, we can also rule out Toshirou, Gakuto, and Osamu," Blaine resolved logically, "Yuuga was with us on both occasions, and if it was Michio, I would have easily spotted his glasses beneath that hood. Aside from that, he's dead, too."

"That leaves Akiyo, Kenzou, and Genji," Kiyomi thought aloud, "It has to be one of those three. Personally, I'd bet my money on Akiyo. He's the most deranged out of the three of them. Everything about that figure had 'deranged' written all over it."

"Yeah, but Akiyo would not have been so delicate with Chiaki when he got his hands on her," Blaine proclaimed, "Kenzou is very familiar with hand-to-hand combat. He knows how to hit someone where it hurts. And that blow to the head I received certainly **did** hurt."

"He seems much more capable of such actions than Genji," Tatsuo accepted, "But I don't think we have enough evidence to pin the blame on him. Or anyone else for that matter. We need more to go on before drawing conclusions."

The three of them sat in further silence, struggling to recall more minutiae about the hooded figure. Then Kiyomi came up with an interesting idea.

"Wait a minute," she expressed it to the others, "I just thought of something. Why are we only considering the male members of the class as potential subjects?"

"For a variety of reasons," Tatsuo flatly responded, "That figure was obviously trying to disguise his voice. I doubt any girl could have projected her voice that deeply. There was also the fact that the figure was tall and musclebound. While this class has its share of strong girls, I don't think any of them are that large. Plus, everybody was already referring to the figure as a male."

"I can't disagree with that, but there are a few other angles to consider," Kiyomi claimed, "For one thing, a person with sufficient voice lessons could modify their tone any way they'd like. Anyone could also put on some additional lairs of clothing to appear bigger. Most of all, even Chiaki and Kotoyo had no apparent idea who that person was. So nothing specific points to the figure being male."

"Okay, then," Tatsuo humored her, "Let's consider your theory for a moment, Kiyomi. If the figure was a female, who would be the chief contender?"

"I'd be willing to consider everyone we haven't already acquitted," Kiyomi answered him, "But at the moment, I suppose that my first choice would be Riyeko."

"Really, Kiyomi?" Blaine scoffed, "You think Riyeko could have been the one?"

"We all know that she is a little eccentric," Kiyomi argued, "We can definitely say the same thing about that figure. Aside from that, she's a fantastic actress on the stage. I've seen her in several productions of many different plays, and every time, she's delivered a solid performance for every role without any indication of difficulty on her part."

"Speaking as someone who worked with Riyeko in a musical, I can validate that claim," Blaine retorted. He said to his girlfriend, "I will admit Riyeko is as good at drama as Tsukasa and Teru were, but do you really think she could fool someone into believing she was a member of the opposite gender?"

"Oh, I think you underestimate her full acting capability, Blaine," Kiyomi admonished him, "Riyeko is not your typical actress. Acting comes as naturally to her as everyday living does to the rest of us. It could simply be an innate talent, but she's improved upon that talent as if it was her objective in life."

Blaine raised an eyebrow in fascination and remarked "Wow, I didn't know she was **that **good. But if she is, how come she doesn't attend a school for gifted people?"

Neither Tatsuo nor Kiyomi replied straight away. They just gazed at each other and contemplated their response. When they turned back to Blaine, Tatsuo was the one to answer: "In a way… she already does."

"What do you mean?" enquired Blaine, "Has she been accepted into some type of performing arts center?"

"No, I'm talking about currently," Tatsuo clarified, "I don't know if you were ever told this, but Keio University is a little more than just your average school. It's a very prestigious academy. It ranks number 19 in the country's top 50 overall greatest high schools. What makes it especially noteworthy is how it can develop a person's character. It's a place where scholars can take their best talents and form them into some of their greatest assets."

"You could almost think of Keio Shonan-Fujisawa Junior High as an institution for child prodigies," Kiyomi professed, "Everybody who attends it is essentially a genius in one way or another. This applies to all the people in our class; all of our classmates have substantial aptitude at their own particular specialties. They're not simply **good **at these talents; they **excel **at them. With all that Keio University has to offer, they're enabled to improve their gifts even further."

"Even if it may not appear that way at first, we all end up bringing a contribution of our own to the table," Tatsuo went on for her, "That applies to all of us. Kotoyo's was in music, Shuuichi's was in marksmanship, Maki's is archery, Tomoe's is in track, Wataru's was in athletic prowess, Gakuto's is in chemistry. On occasion, some of us have more than one expertise to offer. Teru's were in drama and computer engineering, Kenzou's are in human anatomy and rugby, and Goro had experience in many different fields."

"That all makes sense," Blaine commented, "What do you suppose Akiyo's unique talent is?"

"I don't really know," Tatsuo replied, "I'm not that certain I **want **to, anyway."

"Still, this is rather amazing," Blaine observed, "I knew that Keio University was a well-renowned school. I had no idea it was **this **high-status."

"That's one of the reasons why you're so respected in Fujisawa, Blaine," Kiyomi informed him, "In order to be accepted into it, you have to be recommended by numerous credible sources before you even set foot through the door. Since you were one of the first dozen people selected for the exchange program and you were chosen to attend our school, you must have been among the most intelligent applicants."

Blaine smirked in appreciation and stated "Thank you for that, Kiyomi. By the way, I know that you have a lot of expertise in several different fields. But what do you suppose your special talent would be?"

Kiyomi thought about this question for a few seconds, and then she answered with "Mine is probably in communicating with people."

"That would make sense to me," Blaine concurred, "After all, you were the first one to open up to me when I first started classes at Keio University. As far as I can recall, you also seem to know precisely what to say to someone. What you just told me is a fine example of that."

There was a moment of silence. Then Blaine turned to his best friend and asked him "What about you, Tatsuo? What do you think is your most useful talent?"

"I'm not really certain I have a specific one," Tatsuo honestly replied, "I mostly have a knack at various actions. I suppose my most distinguished flair could be one of two things: my knowledge of western culture, or my ability to confront and accept all facts. Case in point, there was that remark I made earlier about how the Program is a waste of potential. All 45 students in our class could have had bright futures in the adult world. Now those futures are only fallacies. That is an unfortunate concept to think about, but it'll be an undisputable truth unless we do something about it."

"You're right," Blaine told him, "On that subject, we've probably spent enough time sitting around and talking. We should get back to finding that hooded figure."

"Then let's get back out there," Kiyomi advised.

The three of them put away their maps and students lists. Then they armed themselves with their weapons and slipped back out into the streets. They moved in a stable formation; Blaine moved at the front with his shotgun, Kiyomi traversed in the middle with her revolver, and Tatsuo covered the back with his pistol.

As they walked, Blaine spoke softly over his shoulder "So… Kiyomi, you really think that that hooded figure could have been Riyeko?"

"Until we find some very indicative evidence, we can't dismiss anyone just yet," Kiyomi reasoned out, "We should treat everyone as a suspect, not just our male classmates. I'm not certain why I'm suspecting Riyeko; she just seems like a logical place to start."

Blaine shrugged and remarked, "I suppose so. It's actually not irrational to draw up some female suspects. After all, now that I think about it, that figure **was** wearing a woman's sweatshirt."

"How can you tell?" queried Tatsuo.

"For American sweatshirts, the material is fuller along the chest and the waistband is a little more constricting," Blaine explained, "Don't forget what I told you back in City Hall. I gave that sweatshirt to someone in the class. If I could only recall…"

Just then, Blaine halted in his tracks. Kiyomi and Tatsuo quickly stopped moving as well. "Wait, I just remembered who it was I got that sweatshirt for!"

Tatsuo and Kiyomi eagerly leaned a little closer to him. The latter asked "Who? Who was it?"

He bluntly told them "I got that sweatshirt for Chieko."

"But Chieko's dead," Tatsuo reminded him.

"I know," said Blaine straightforwardly, "But that doesn't mean the killer could not have taken it off of her after killing her. Or…"

He paused for a moment and stood thinking again. After about a minute of quietness, Kiyomi inquired "Or what?"

"I just remembered something else," Blaine informed them, "Chieko mentioned that she had gone to a party at Goro's house last weekend. Two days before we left on the class trip, she told me in passing that she had accidentally left her sweatshirt at Goro's house, and that somebody else who had attended the party was going to give it back to her on the class trip."

"Who?" asked Tatsuo.

"Alas, I have no idea," Blaine grimly revealed, "But that's still a useful bit of information to go on. If we can determine who exactly went to that party, we can create a list of suspects and narrow them down from there."

"But the three of us were hanging out at my house that weekend," Tatsuo pointed out, "How could we possibly find out who went to that party when we weren't there ourselves?"

"I don't know," stated Blaine, "Since Goro's dead, it would be next to impossible to determine who was at his sleepover. But we should still try to speculate on who he would have invited. Let's ponder on this topic while we search. Who was Goro on especially good terms with? Who did he like to have around? Who would he ideally have over at his place for a whole night? We should think about this carefully and seriously. Whoever took home Chieko's sweatshirt could be the guy – or girl – that we're after."

Tatsuo and Kiyomi found this to be a practical but realistic theory. They kept it in mind as they continued trekking through the city streets.

All three of these friends had one notable thing in common: one of their greatest individual strengths had something to do with information. Tatsuo's was in confirming information, Kiyomi's was in distributing information, and apparently, Blaine's was in discovering information.

He just hoped his investigation would lead them somewhere before the next announcement.

…

In A-7, Reika Fujihara (Girl #19) and Osamu Sano (Boy #9) were still in the mall's furniture store.

Both of them were resting on the bed. It had been over an hour since their first sexual encounter. They had not gotten off that bed once since then. In fact, they had barely even moved at all. They were still savoring the pleasure of their affair.

Both of them were awake, but Osamu appeared to be asleep. He was lying flat on his back with his eyes shut tight. His lower body and most of his chest were covered by the sheets, and he kept his head rested against the pillows on his side.

While Osamu was still completely naked, Reika had gotten up long enough to put her underwear back on. At this time, she was sitting next to him in her bra and panties, propped up against the pillows on her side. She was currently updating her student list and map. There was nobody whose name she was particularly surprised to hear on the announcement, not even Kotoyo's. This is to be expected, as Toshirou and Gakuto never mentioned her to Reika or Osamu. However, she was content with the fact that the other two members of the gang were alive and well. She was also glad to discover that the mall, the police station, and the carpentry shop were clear of the new forbidden areas.

She turned to Osamu and asked him "You want me to update yours, too?"

He turned his head towards her, smirked, and replied "Sure. Why not?"

Reika reached over the other side of the bed and picked Osamu's supply pack up off the ground. She then proceeded to take out his student list and map and make the same modifications to them. Once she was finished, she put the papers away and returned the supply pack to its spot on the floor. Then she brushed a few locks of her hair back, stretched her arms a bit, and leaned back again.

A moment later, Reika looked down at Osamu and watched him closely. Most of his bare chest was exposed, and he had his hands crossed together over it. He was absolutely still except for the area around his stomach, which steadily rose up and down as he breathed in and out. She thought he looked so handsome and peaceful like that. She had a strong desire to spend the whole day doing nothing but lying next to him.

However, she knew that such a thing would be impossible. They still had a great deal of work that needed to be done. As much as Reika did not want to disturb Osamu, she knew he would want to remain focused on the game. She said "Hey, Osamu?"

"Yeah, Reika?" he replied, opening his eyes slightly and looking at her.

"When do you suppose we should rendezvous with the others?" she enquired.

"Well, it **is** after midnight," Osamu thought aloud, "I believe we arranged to meet up with Toshirou and Gakuto sometime around now. But that was only if neither they nor we found anything especially noteworthy by then. Even if they haven't found anything of significance, I suppose we have. I mean, that window in the clothing department seems to be a favorable way out of the city. With that in mind, we could stay here a little while longer. If I know them, they wouldn't mind waiting around at the carpentry shop for us."

"That makes fine sense to me," stated Reika, "And who knows? Maybe Toshirou and Gakuto found a promising lead on Teru's work. Teru may have even finished his disruption code before he died. If he did and he had it on him at the time, all we would have to do is use it on the school."

"I hope we're that fortunate," commented Osamu, "Do you really think it could be that simple?"

"Probably not," Reika admitted, "But I'm staying optimistic. Until Toshirou and Gakuto get back, there is no reason for us not to consider it as a possibility."

"I guess you're right," stated Osamu. He stared at the ceiling and told Reika "Now that we've talked about this, I think we should stay here a while longer. We need to confirm that the clothing department's windows have no alarms. If they do, we'll have to disable them. It might also be a good idea for us to determine whether or not we have access to the roof. We'd have an excellent vantage point from up there. We would be able to estimate how close the nearest guard towers are, and we might be able to see further outside the city limits."

"Okay, sounds like a fair plan," Reika observed. She then pulled herself a little closer to Osamu, gazed down at him, and said deviously "On the subject of things to do, this bed gives me an idea. If we have enough time, we might be able to turn to it again for some more **personal** use."

Osamu smirked in return and cockily remarked "I like the sound of that."

Reika lowered her head, touched Osamu's cheek with her left hand, closed her eyes, and kissed Osamu him on the lips. He accepted her advances by closing his own eyes, resting his right hand on her shoulder, and kissed her back. They stayed in this position for almost a minute before pulling apart. Even after that, they continued gazing amorously into each other's eyes. The aura of affection and desire was lingering all around them.

A moment later, Reika paused. Then she looked over her shoulder and glared over at the entrance of the furniture store. She asked "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" said Osamu in concern.

"I'm not sure…" she tentatively replied, "I thought I heard a gust of wind."

"Really?" he said in interest. He paused for a moment and then theorized "Maybe a draft somehow got in."

"How could that be?" she argued, "All the stores in the mall are locked down tight. The only accessible entrance is the door we came through. If that **was **the wind, the only place it could have entered from without setting off an alarm would be there. And that's halfway around the mall."

"Well, I didn't hear anything," he informed her. He lifted himself up on his elbows and looked in the same direction as Reika. Then he asked her "Are you absolutely certain you did?"

"Well, the sound was very faint," she admitted, "Maybe it was just a kink in the ventilation system. It's equally possible I was just imagining it in my head; I didn't hear anything else following it."

"So, no worries," he concluded. He lowered his body back down and laid flat on his back again. He expected Reika to lie back down as well, but she did not. Instead, she hopped off the bed and went to work gathering up her clothes. Once she had them all, she started getting dressed.

Osamu sat up again and asked her "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to take a look around," Reika enlightened him as she fastened her skirt around her waist.

As she slipped on her blouse and buttoned it up, Osamu queried "Why do you want to do that?"

"If we're going to stay around here for a few more hours, we'll need to make certain this foundation is secure," Reika rationalized, picking up her uniform jacket and throwing it on, "The only way to confirm that is to investigate it. That's what I'm going to do."

"Okay, then I'll come along," Osamu decided.

He started to reach for his own clothes, but Reika placed her hand on his shoulder and told him "You don't have to, Osamu. I'm just going to take a brief overview of the foundation from the second floor. I'll also be able to see everything on the ground floor from up here. If they're both clear, I'll come right back here."

"And if they're not?" Osamu countered.

Reika just smirked, picked up her pistol, and told him "I'll still have **this**."

Osamu shrugged and figured "That's fair enough, Reika. Are you sure you want me to stay here?"

"Yes, I am," Reika responded, "I trust you'd be able to watch my back and search just as thoroughly as me, Osamu. However, both of us have been awake for almost twenty-four hours. We'll need some time to recuperate to stay alert. So for the present, it would be handy if one of us rests while the other one works. You just relax. I can handle this myself."

Osamu scoffed and agreed with "Okay, if you insist."

The two of them pecked each other on the lips. Then Osamu laid back down on the bed, and Reika took her pistol and turned to the store's front entrance. She gripped it tightly in her right hand and headed to the front entrance.

Once she was outside the store, she went to work surveying the floor. She surveyed all the shops and kiosks for any sign of change. Every now and then, she peeked over the rails to get a look at the area below. She had her eyes open for anything out of the ordinary. Everything seemed to be untouched and tranquil, but she did not take their appearances for granted.

As she explored the level, Reika thought about her recent intimate event with Osamu. She had fantasized many times before about being in the same bed as him, but what had actually happened between them left her feeling far more pleased than those fantasies could ever make her feel.

While Reika was the one who instigated the affair, she would not have opened up like that to just anyone. In fact, normally she was extremely protective of her body. Sometimes, she had to fight to uphold and protect her honor.

Reika was viewed by many of her male classmates as the most attractive girl in Classs 3-A, and one of the most beautiful girls they had ever seen in general. A few of them had tried tempting her into spending a night with them somewhere. She never accepted these advances, even when the individual was practically demanding her to give in. She always took care of herself and her dignity.

Although she had been a virgin up until her tryst with Osamu, she had actually used her beauty and sexual appeal to the gang's advantage on certain occasions. She had done this over a dozen times, but there were three specific instances she enjoyed reminiscing on. All of them had taken place since the start of ninth grade.

Five weeks after the term began, the gang had been informed by one of their contacts that he had found a job for them. However, he told them that the man they needed to speak to for the specifics of the job would only meet with them at a club. It was strictly an adult club, meaning no one under the age of twenty-one was allowed in. The bouncer who stood guard outside the front door was a very rigid one. He could not be bribed by money or anything else. However, it was up to Osamu and his friends to get themselves past him. They were determined to get in there, as the job was too valuable to pass up.

That was where Reika came in. She put on her best sultry act and innocently waltzed up to the bouncer. It did not take long for him to succumb to her charm. Reika managed to lure him away from the door long enough for Gakuto and Kazumitsu to slip into the club, speak with the contact, and saunter back out. Once they were out, Reika tersely ditched the bouncer.

Eight weeks later, the gang was conducting some business in the black market. They were there to gather some equipment for one of their upcoming heists. The target for this one was a high-security facility, so they needed better gear than they typically used. At first, nobody seemed to have what they needed. However, while they were there, a new distributor showed up and set up his station in a secured location. Osamu and the others paid him a visit, and they found that he was carrying exactly what they were looking for. Unfortunately, he was charging an outrageous price for all of his merchandise.

Toshirou and Kaminari tried to haggle with this man, but he refused to budge on the prices he had set. They tried every practical form of negotiation short of violence, but he would not yield. So Reika requested to have a moment alone with him.

All she had to do was give him her trademark seductive smile, and he started letting his guard down. After sensually swinging her hips and sweet-talking him, he gave in and agreed to sell the group what they wanted at a cheaper, more reasonable price. Once the transaction was complete, Reika pitilessly enlightened the man that she was underage.

Eleven weeks later, the gang was having a meeting with a representative from the Yakuza. The primary purpose of the summit was preparation for a collaborative event. Both groups had planned to carry out the operation together. That night they met simply to exchange information before they developed a plan. Part way through the conference, the Yakuza began suspecting that Osamu and his friends were withholding some pertinent material from him. He started pressing the group to tell him more, and even went so far as to threaten them.

At one point, he demanded to speak with each member of the gang separately. He started getting impatient when none of them told him anything new. However, Reika's turn came, she actually gave him something none of the others would have dared to. She gave him bedroom eyes. She then proceeded to sit on his desk, spread her legs apart, and lure him into a sense of security. Using only her gestures and soft words, she talked him into giving her friends some breathing room and respect. After he agreed to this, she promptly slid off his desk and kept her distance from him.

Despite having a few close calls, Reika had never given up her innocence to any man. She was careful to prevent any situation from getting out of hand; no one man had ever managed to lay as much as a hand on her.

She was very happy that she had saved herself for Osamu. He was one of the most respectable men she knew, and he was closer to her age than anyone else she had attempted to seduce. She just hoped that this would not end up being a mistake. She had heard once that a pair of lovers are seventy percent more likely to stay together if they wait until after they are in a committed relationship to have sex. Obviously, Reika and Osamu were not in a relationship of that sort. In fact, up until that morning, she had always believed such a bond with him would have been impossible.

However, this did not imply that her relationship with him was inexorably doomed. After all, in a way, he had opened up to her just as much as she had to him. She had seen a side of him that he had never shown anyone outside of his family. This was his sweet, emotive side. Now that she knew about this aspect of him, she could totally visualize herself having a future with him.

Of course, those thoughts would have to wait until later to become likelihoods. For the present, she had to make certain the mall was sheltered.

After about ten minutes of browsing through the mall, Reika encountered a store whose front door was wide open. This stood out to her as abnormal, as all the stores on the second floor had been closed when she first arrived. She would know, as she and Osamu had passed by them over two dozen times while they transported all those mattresses from the furniture store to the clothing department.

Reika stepped up to the open door and peered inside. She did not have her flashlight, but she could make out everything inside the store. In terms of size, it was relatively small. There were a few shelves of books in one section, rows of trinkets in another, and an assortment of strange-looking merchandise in the others.

Reika could see everything from the front of the room, so there were no decent hiding spots. The door to the backroom had been sealed off as well; it could not be forced open. It did not take long for Reika to conclude that nobody was there.

She shrugged and stated "I guess this door was open all along. We just didn't notice it. May as well close it up."

Reika took the handle of the glass door and began pulling it shut. As she did, she found she was actually a little curious as to what this particular shop was supposed to be. So she paused for a moment and looked up at the sign hanging over the entrance. Once she read it, she scoffed and turned her attention back to the door.

"Who the hell would want to break into a joke shop, anyway?" she muttered to herself in exasperation as she slid the door shut.

The moment the door was closed, Reika got her answer. She heard a faint giggling from behind. This took her quite by surprise. Hearing any unexpected sound in general would have bothered her, but she recognized this giggle after a few seconds of listening to it. This realization made her feel copiously uncomfortable. She knew full well there was only one person in Class 3-A who could make such a disturbing laugh. Every time this person gave off that laugh, it usually meant trouble for someone else.

Reika gripped her pistol in her hand and stood absolutely still. She took about ten seconds to mentally prepare herself for what she was about to do. Then she whipped around and raised her pistol.

A moment later, two gunshots rang out. Next thing Reika knew, she felt a huge rush of pain in her upper torso. She had been shot in two different regions of her chest. She stumbled backwards and directly collided against the joke shop's glass door. She hit it so roughly that it shattered.

Reika dropped to the ground and landed hard in a sea of broken glass. Several shards had managed to dig into her skin. Now she was overcome with pain in both the front and back of her chest. As a result, Reika found she could not move a muscle. She could barely even moan without inviting more anguish.

Reika managed to lift her head a bit, and she saw a silhouette a couple meters in front of her. Despite the agony she felt, she tried hard to concentrate on the figure. A moment later, she was able to confirm her suspicions. Hina Tashima (Girl #13) was standing over her, holding a handgun in the air with her right arm. She was still giving off that unpleasant giggle.

Hina lowered her gun, took a few steps forward, and slyly commented "You don't look so good, Reika. Have you had your **shots**, yet?"

Her giggling quickly turned to laugher.

Even if Reika wanted to, she could not respond. Her breathing quickly became more labored, and she had a perpetually greater difficulty trying to focus. But there was nothing she could do about it. She just laid there in broken glass and a slowly-growing pool of her own blood.

When Hina stopped laughing, she straightened out her glasses, looked back down at Reika, and watched her closely. Then she artfully remarked "How do you like that, Reika? It's true that no man could ever take advantage of you. How ironic that it's so easy for someone of the same gender to catch you off-guard."

…

Whenever a class is selected for the Program, the students are never aware of their selection until they actually arrive on site at the game's location. Once they learn of the government's plans for them, the initial response most of them are inclined to give is to panic. This reaction is only natural; being forced to fight to the death against one's peers is a terrible fate.

It is debatable as to what specific detail about the Program incites the students to dread it the most. Truthfully, one does not really need a reason to detest the Program, let alone the concept of partaking in it. Even so, most of the participants have one anyway. For some, it could be the violence, the mayhem, the tension, the inevitable betrayals, or simply the thought of being on the brink of death at every moment.

However, one could legitimately claim that the primary reason the competing students are left frazzled upon discovering that they are in the Program is because the majority of them are convinced automatically they will not survive. Several of the people in this majority may not even be aware that they have already lost hope. These individuals like to persuade themselves into believing that they could somehow win the game, but subconsciously, they feel as though their efforts would be in vain. These people are simply in denial.

Only a few of the students are genuinely confident that they have a decent chance of winning the game. Some of these people are often the players. Others are the rebels who wholeheartedly believe that escape is a worthwhile possibility. The remaining ones are simply under the impression that luck is on their side. These people feel the strongest need to keep going, and the importance of never giving up prematurely. All the same, their faith is still very fragile, and it can be shattered at any time.

For the majority of the game, Kenzou Iwamoto (Boy #3) had been absolutely self-assured in his own ability to endure the hardships of the Program. However, he had changed his approach on more than one occasion.

At the start of the game, he had considered trying to find a way to escape from the city. However, he knew it would be impossible to manage this alone. That was one of the reasons why he was so fervent to form a group with more of his classmates.

He had hooked up with Daisuke Araki about an hour after leaving the school. Another hour later, they met up with Shuuichi Kai and Tsukasa Yoshizawa. Neither of the first two boys were particularly thrilled to have Tsukasa around, but they saw great promise in Shuuichi as a potential ally.

After the four of them had taken shelter, they began compiling several ideal strategies. The others had plenty of useful suggestions, but Kenzou appeared to be the only one who had a goal that eventually involved escaping. All he did about this objective was mention it once. The others quickly dismissed it, so he decided to drop it and he never brought it up again afterwards.

Shortly before Naozumi Matsuno (Boy #20) joined the group, Kenzou switched his objective. He planned to leave the group and play the game. However, while his knowledge of human anatomy was an enormous asset, he felt that it and his Taser would not be enough to get him through the game on his own. He realized it would still be a decent idea to have some assistance along the way.

That was when he started to appreciate the Program's newest rule. After Naozumi arrived, Kenzou began studying all four of his associates. He tried to imagine how having each one of them as an ally would work out. Tsukasa had the best weapon, but Kenzou had a very low tolerance level for his conduct. Daisuke was the wisest and most levelheaded, but he seemed to be the one least likely to willingly play the game. Naozumi was the largest and strongest, but he struck Kenzou as a bit of a pushover.

Kenzou saw a great deal of potential in Shuuichi, notably because of his proficiency with guns. In addition to that, he seemed to be a rational and open-minded person, meaning he would probably be the easiest to coerce into playing the game.

Kenzou was further impressed later on by how Shuuichi disabled Goro. At that point, he was certain that the marksman expert was exactly who he needed as his partner. However, it occurred to him that before he so much as hinted the possibility of partnership to Shuuichi, the two of them would have to break off from Daisuke and Naozumi. In order for that to happen, they would need a compelling excuse for leaving the group. He found it convenient that Daisuke had been shot.

He willingly performed the operation on Daisuke to extract the bullet. While his procedure was somewhat amateur and crude, he had carried it out rather well for someone with no combat medical training. It was his first time handling a bullet wound, but it was not the first time he had been forced to operate on someone. Kenzou had done something similar a few months earlier. It had happened when one of his fellow rugby teammates had been severely injured during a game and the paramedic on site needed someone to assist him. Kenzou had the best medical training out of everyone on the team by far, so he volunteered. This affair was not as horrid as the ordeal with Daisuke, but it was almost as sickening.

This was one occasion when Kenzou's medical training really pulled through. Despite the limited amount of available resources, he managed to open Daisuke's wound, remove the bullet, and sew his chest back up. After carrying out the blood transfusion, he simply carried on as if he had no underhand aims. So he kept up his act to draw away any suspicion from Daisuke or Naozumi. He even left them Tsukasa's rifle to ascertain this.

It was not until they were halfway to the fire department that Kenzou confided his plan with Shuuichi. He had anticipated that the marksman would be reluctant to play the game, but Kenzou was determined to get him to see things from his angle.

Shortly after, they were ambushed by the hooded figure. That had been a particularly displeasing matter. On the plus side, while they had been pinned down in the alley, Kenzou believed he had managed to convince Shuuichi to come around and play the game with him as partners. So he trusted Shuuichi to get him out of that situation.

However, Kenzou found himself seriously reevaluating his faith in Shuuichi's competence when he saw someone down the street shoot several times at the hooded figure and miss every time. Kenzou was still unaware that that person was Yuuga; he had thought all this time it had been Shuuichi. This error made him question not only his plan to form a partnership with Shuuichi, but the whole concept of having a partner in general.

After escaping from the hooded figure, Kenzou remained hiding in that room full of crates until the evening announcements. Then he chose to head back out into the city, albeit somewhat halfheartedly.

At this point, he was basing his confidence for his survival purely on luck. He was still not planning on escaping from the city, but he was no longer certain that playing the game was any better. So he just wandered around the city, thinking about the rest of his options.

The possibility of regrouping with his previous teammates had occurred to him once. It did not take him long to come up with at least six different reasons why this would be a bad idea. For one thing, he had no clue where to look. As it turned out, the hospital had become a danger zone after all. Daisuke and Naozumi must have left the building within an hour after the announcement. He knew they may have chosen to head to the fire department anyway, but that was only one possibility. They could have gone anywhere. As for Shuuichi, Kenzou could not even guess where to begin searching for him.

In addition to this, Kenzou speculated that in his absence, his relationship with the others may have been strained. If worse came to worst, they probably wanted nothing to do with him anymore. Shuuichi may have decided that he was no longer willing to play the game or that Kenzou made an unreliable partner. If that was the case, he could have gone back to Daisuke and Naozumi and informed them that Kenzou had abandoned them.

So until otherwise, Kenzou chose to carry on functioning alone. He continuously moved throughout the streets, staying primed and attentive. In terms of his goals, he had no specific plans in mind, but he felt the need to just keep on moving.

He assumed that anyone who was the playing the game was likely on the move. If that was the case, he found it would be most commonsensical to stay on the move himself. The logic behind this was that if there were two people in an enclosed environment, they would eventually come across each other as long as one of them was moving. If the other person was staying still, it would not take long for the mobile person to come across the stationary person. However, if both individuals were constantly moving, there was a significant likelihood that it would be much longer before they encountered each other.

With this in mind, Kenzou actually felt more secure when he journeyed through the streets. He may have been out in the open, but he was in a new position at every moment. Every new position implied a new opportunity for him.

He ended up spending several hours travelling around the town. He had barely encountered anyone in all that time. He had no complaints about the lack of company; it made him feel more comfortable.

In fact, the only time he had come close to encountering someone was when he passed by the car wash in H-4. For just a moment, he thought he spotted a couple silhouettes running by the parking garage from fifty feet away. However, when he took a closer look, he could plainly see there was nobody there.

The only time Kenzou stopped moving for more than three minutes was for the midnight announcement. He was quite surprised to learn that both Shuuichi and Daisuke were dead. Although he did not know the specific details regarding their fates, Kenzou drew his own conclusions on what he believed happened to them. Given how disoriented Shuuichi had been from his blood loss, Kenzou theorized that he had been caught unawares and killed shortly after. He also assumed that despite his efforts to save Daisuke, he most likely succumbed to injuries he had received from earlier.

Kenzou wondered how Naozumi was handling himself, even though he was not especially concerned about his wellbeing. All the same, the two of them were the only ones left from their original group of five. After all, Kenzou was the one who had spotted Naozumi and invited him into the group in the first place. He could not help but be a little concerned for the gentle giant.

Once the midnight announcement was over, Kenzou gathered up his belongings and went back to wandering the streets. Like before, he bumped into no one. He was still holding onto a strand of hope that he would somehow luck out and end up outlasting the Program. However, this presented a hefty challenge to him, as he had no idea how he could even try to begin successfully working towards this objective. He just clung to his Taser, continued walking through the city streets, and gazed over his shoulder every other minute.

After about a half-hour of aimless drifting, Kenzou was partly through H-3 when he abruptly ceased moving. He had stopped because he thought he saw another person walking in the distance. It was too dark to tell for certain, but he swore he could make out some movement.

Kenzou did not want to risk getting out his flashlight to confirm this theory; if it turned out to be true, he would most certainly compromise his cover by doing so. He still wanted to investigate, albeit in an indirect manner.

Kenzou moved to the side of the street and stood at the entrance of an alley. Despite having fine night vision, it was difficult to see very far away in the dark. So he squinted his eyes to attempt to get a better look.

A few seconds later, he saw more movement. As it turned out, somebody else was indeed in the area. There was not one, but two figures out there. They were still too far away for him to make out their faces, but he could tell that one of them was in a uniform suit and the other was in a sailor suit. That meant one of them was a boy and the other was a girl. The girl appeared to have her attention focused on the road, but the boy looked as though he was gazing down at an object in his hand. Based on what Kenzou could determine, the two of them were armed. They also appeared to be heading in his general direction.

Kenzou did not panic when this realization occurred to him. He reasoned that just because those two were approaching him, it did not necessarily entail that they had seen him or that they were following him. However, in order to reaffirm this position, he entered the alley and slunk back to the other end of it. There he patiently waited for the two figures to get closer.

A couple minutes later, they were in his sights again. He expected the two of them to walk right by. This was not the case; they halted directly at the entrance of the alley. Then he seemed to be discussing something with each other. The boy was showing the girl the object in his hand and gesturing towards the alley. At first, Kenzou was confused by their actions. But when the two figures turned to the alley and started walking towards it, his confusion turned into agitation.

Kenzou hastily left the alley from the other end and hurried down the street back to the east. He did not gaze over his shoulder until he was about a block away from that alley. About ten seconds after he looked back, he could see the two figures leaving the alley as well. They soon started walking down the street in the same direction. They were not staring directly at Kenzou, but they seemed to know where he had gone.

Kenzou realized that they must have somehow known he was out there and that they were following him. He still tried to remain calm. He quickened his pace a little, but he was careful not to make any noises. He also made certain to avoid stepping into any streetlights, lest he give his position away. He evasively maneuvered through the streets, using every trick he could think of to ditch his classmates.

However, his two pursuers were able to keep up with him. Every time he turned onto a new street or a new alley, they would be on that street within the following minute. Regardless of how fast, elusive, or cautious he tried to be, they managed to emulate his entire path. At one point, Kenzou turned onto a new block and entered a building while they were on the previous block. He strongly hoped that they would not follow him in there, but as a safeguard, he moved all the way to the back of the building. This idea may have saved his life, as he heard the front door open only a moment later. Had he stayed in the front of the building, he may have been ambushed. So he slipped out through the back entrance and resumed running through the streets.

Kenzou was becoming very uneasy by this point. To him, there was no rational way to explain how those two were able to track him so well. It was almost as if they could anticipate his every move and that they could somehow tell exactly where he would go.

However, he had no time to guess how they managed this. All he was concerned about was getting away from his stalkers. Essentially, he was fleeing for his life. At this point, he also felt as though his luck was quickly running out.

At the start of the Program, Kenzou had honestly believed he could outlast the events of the game and come out alive. His self-assurance in his ability to survive was just as strong as anyone else's. Now he was beginning to doubt that he would make it to the next announcement or even the end of the hour.

…

Osamu Sano had been resting peaceably on the bed at the furniture store. One would think that nothing could disturb him. However, when he heard the gunshots, he had automatically snapped to attention.

He looked all over the room, and quickly realized he was alone. This meant that Reika had not yet returned to the store. This left Osamu feeling very anxious. He knew that Reika would not risk using her weapon unless she absolutely had to. That meant that she must have been forced to fire at someone, or someone else had fired at her. Either way, this heavily implied that an aggressor was somewhere in the mall.

Osamu gathered up his clothes and pulled them on as fast as he could. Once he was fully dressed, he equipped himself with his Swiss army knife. He then picked up one of the supply packs off the ground, thinking it was his own. It was actually Reika's, but he did not have time to check, nor did he particularly care.

Osamu hurriedly made his way to the front of the furniture store and stopped at the entrance. He stuck his head out, looked both ways, and stepped outside when he discovered no one was in the immediate area. Then he slowly started walking down the esplanade.

He stayed fully alert and kept his army knife brandished. He was ready to draw out its largest blade at a moment's notice. The only lights he had were the rays from the moon that glared in from the windows on the building's ceiling. He was not going to risk using his flashlight.

Every few seconds, he softly called out "Reika?" After a while, he expected to hear a scream. However, every time he called out his paramour's name, the only answer he received was complete silence. To Osamu, this silence was far worse than a scream. At least if he heard Reika scream, he would have some reassurance that she was alive.

About ten minutes after he left the furniture store, Osamu arrived at the end of the main boardwalk. So he turned onto the next causeway and crossed over to it. After advancing another fifty feet, something caught his attention.

On the other side of the promenade, one of the stores was wide open. Osamu realized that the shop was missing its sliding glass door. It had been entirely shattered. But that was nowhere near as discomforting as what was lying on the ground in the center of the broken fragments. Or more specifically, **who **was lying there.

"Reika!" Osamu shouted in shock. He rushed to her side and kneeled in front of her. He briefly looked her over, and he noticed she had two holes in her blouse. He was horrified when he discovered that both those holes were covered in red. As far as he could tell, Reika was not dead; she was only unconscious. However, this realization was hardly a relief; her breathing was dangerously weak.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," he tensely uttered over and over again. He did not have the slightest idea how to even begin treating a gunshot wound. He did not have any first aid kits, medicine, or drugs. However, he remembered that earlier on, he had taken a towel out of his backpack and decided to carry it in his supply pack. It was not much, but he hoped it would be a sufficient start. He turned to his supply pack, unzipped it, and delved through its contents. To his surprise and dismay, he could not find his towel. What he did find were a few boxes of cartridges and a jar of colorless liquid.

That was when he realized he had accidentally taken Reika's supply pack instead of his own. When he embraced this fact, he groaned in profound discontent.

A moment later, he heard a voice softly say "Osamu?"

Reika had regained consciousness. Osamu was immediately in front of her, his face only inches from hers. He wanted to embrace her and hold her, but he dared not risk inflicting any more damage on her than that she had already suffered. So he tried comforting her through his words. He told her "I'm so, so sorry this happened to you."

"Don't be," she told him softly, "This… wasn't… your fault."

Evidently, she was in incredible pain, but she still made an effort to sound fearless. Osamu, however, was beyond worrying about appearing brave. He almost looked as though he was on the verge of breaking down. He muttered "This is **all** my fault. I knew I should have gone with you. Why the hell didn't I? This might not have happened if I did."

"You don't… know that," she feebly argued, "We could both… be dead right now… if you joined me. No, don't… don't blame… yourself for this. I… I turned your offer… down. I convinced… you to… to stay at… the store. This is on… me, not… you."

"Why the hell are we wasting time arguing over who the guilty party is?" Osamu murmured heatedly, "The guilty party must be the one who made it possible. That's what's really important. So, tell me, please. Who did this to you?"

At this point, Reika could scarcely continue to speak at all. Every time she tried to talk, she felt as though she would strain her vocal cords. Most of what she managed to get out were little more than high-pitched whimpers. All the same, she struggled obstinately to answer Osamu's question.

But before she could, her eyes dilated, as if she saw something that shocked her. She lifted her hand slightly and pointed with her index finger. However, he missed the gesture; his attention was on her lips, not her hand.

Reika hastily mouthed a couple words to Osamu, but he could not tell what they were. He leaned forward a little and asked her "What was that?"

She repeated her words, but that were barely audible. Osamu moved in closer and urged her "One more time."

"Behind you," was all she could articulate before her voice gave out.

She told him this just in the nick of time. A couple seconds later, Osamu heard the sounds of footsteps and a gun's safety being pulled back. They both came from directly behind him.

Before he had time to react, he heard another voice.

"Keep it down, lover boy," the voice warned him, albeit in a somewhat humorous tone, "Let's take this nice and slow. I want to see those big, manly hands of yours."

Osamu gradually raised his arms into the air. Unbeknownst to his assailant, he managed to slip his Swiss army knife up his sleeve before he did this. He was just itching to attack his assailant, but he wanted to know who he was up against before he moved in on her. So for the moment, he simply played along with her demands.

"How do you like that?" stated the assailant, "A woman starts bleeding on her own, but she stops bleeding when a man comes along. Talk about symbolism."

Osamu realized straightaway who was holding him at gunpoint. Only one person in Class 3-A would tactless enough to crack such reprehensible statements about murder and other such subjects.

"Why'd you do this, Hina?" Osamu demanded furiously, "Why did you shoot her? She did nothing to you."

"She drew on me," Hina claimed, "I don't think I really need to justify my actions to you or anybody else, Osamu. Have you forgotten we're stuck in the goddamn Program? You'd have to have the memory of a goldfish for that to be the case."

"How did you even know we were here?" he spat back.

"I spotted you from the roof of the theater," she explained, "You were a real pain in the ass to follow; tracking isn't my strong point. But I caught up with you easily enough. I took her down with little difficulty. Now you can die with her in your arms."

While the two of them had been conversing, Osamu had managed to draw out the largest blade from his army knife. Now all he needed was a small window of opportunity so that he could use it.

A moment later, Hina tapped the front of her handgun against the back of Osamu's head. Then she ordered him sarcastically "Go ahead, Osamu. Take your condemned love in your arms. You may as well die in style."

Osamu started leaning forward, as if he was actually going to comply with her command. As he did this, he slid his army knife out of his sleeve and into his hand. Just before his body lying on top of Reika's, Osamu abruptly thrust his body backwards. This sudden movement caught Hina completely off guard. Before she had time to redirect her aim, Osamu grabbed her wrist with his free hand and stabbed her in her palm with his knife.

She shouted in pain and dropped her handgun. Now she was unarmed, but Osamu was not finished with her yet. He pulled out his knife, rose to his full height, turned to face Hina, and slashed at her head. Although he was aiming for her glasses, he ended up cutting her along her chin and neck. Hina moaned and lurched backwards.

When she recovered a moment later, Hina turned away from him and took off running down the nearest walkway. However, Osamu was not going to let her go so easily. He looked back at Reika, kneeled next to her, and told her "I'll be right back. Just hang in there for me. Don't worry; I'll make Hina pay for this."

Reika hazily nodded her head. Fortunately, she had enough strength to mouth the words "Be careful. I love you."

He smiled ruefully, kissed her one more time, and told her "I love you, too." Then he jumped to his feet, tightened his grip on his knife, and sprinted after Hina.

The gang leader ended up chasing the class jokester all over the floor. She was desperate to get away from him, but he had his sights firmly set on catching her. In the end, all it really came down to was which one of them was more committed to their goal. This was determined about four minutes after the pursuit began.

At this point, Osamu managed to get close enough to be within arm's length of Hina. When that happened, he raised his arm and chucked his knife at her. He ended up hitting her directly in her upper back. She squawked in distress and collapsed onto her stomach. A moment later, Osamu was upon her. He seized her by her arms, yanked out his knife, and flipped Hina onto her back. Then he used his left arm to pin her down.

Before he did anything else, Osamu got a good look at Hina's face. He eyed her with a vengeful, ferocious look across his countenance. Then he studied her own facial expression. For once in her life, she was not smiling. In fact, she appeared to be terrified. This made him feel glad; he wanted her to be afraid. It would make killing her all the more satisfying.

He raised his knife high into the air, ready to plunge it into Hina's forehead or throat. But right before he did either, he paused. He turned his eyes toward the bag over his shoulder. He realized that he was indeed carrying Reika's supply pack, then the jar of colorless liquid could have only been one thing. When this occurred to him, Osamu got an idea. It was a brutal idea, but at the time, it sounded like a fine one.

Osamu turned his gaze to the bag on his shoulder. In his haste to follow Hina, it had remained unzipped. The jar of acid was lying right on top of the others contents. Osamu set his knife aside, reached for the jar, pulled it out of the bag, and stared down at Hina. He showed her the jar and quietly asked her "Do you know what this is?"

Despite being paralyzed by fear, Hina managed to shake her head a few times. Osamu snickered and elucidated to her "This is Fluoroantimonic Acid. It's really powerful stuff. It can dissolve ceramic, metal, plaster, Pyrex, concrete, and just about anything else other than plastic. Since glass is another thing it can disband, I'm guessing the inside of this jar must be coated with plastic as well. That's the only logical explanation I can think of as to why it's still intact. That being said, I want to put that theory to the test. Let's see what this stuff is **really **capable of."

Osamu remained smirking wickedly as he stared down at Osamu. He started unscrewing the lid of the jar with his free hand. As he did, he spoke through gritted teeth "By the way, this stuff is even more hazardous to anything organic. As a head-up, you probably wouldn't want to get any on your flesh."

This remark made Hina squirm and try to break free, but Osamu had a strong hold on her. Soon, he the lid of the jar was off and Osamu set it aside. Then he gradually held it over Hina's head and let it rest over forehead. She focused on the jar intently, dreading Osamu's next move.

After a minute of inactivity, Osamu gradually began tilting the jar. He continued tilting it until a single drop of the acid dripped out and landed on the left lens of Hina's glasses. The effect was instantaneous; the glass emanated smoke and the acid started softening it without delay.

"Well, what do you know?" Osamu leered at Hina, "It **does **eat through glass."

It only took about fifteen seconds for the single drop of acid to form a hole in Hina's glasses. After that, the remainder of the drop dribbled down to her iris. Immediately after the acid made contact with Hina's eye, she started screeching in agony.

"MY EYE!" Hina shrieked in misery, "MY EYE!"

Osamu smiled in vicious pleasure. His plan was working. Now that he knew the Fluoroantimonic Acid worked excellently on organic material, he was not going to halt at one lone drop. Over the next few seconds, Osamu spilled several more drops of the acid on Hina's forehead, nose, cheeks, ears, and chin. Every time he did, her squeals became more tortured and more extreme. The louder she screamed, the more delighted Osamu felt.

The acid quickly took its toll on Hina's face. It dissolved everything it came in contact with. This included skin, muscle, bone, hair, and even her teeth. When Osamu had used a quarter of the acid on Hina, he finally relented. He set the jar to the side, but continued holding Hina down to keep her from resisting.

Less twenty seconds later, Hina could hardly move at all and her cries were reduced to weak moans. Within the next minute, she stopped screaming and thrashing altogether. By this point, all of her facial features had been virtually erased. Her eyes, nose, lips, and ears were mutilated beyond hope of repair. She looked as though the front of her head had been melted away. The acid had gone so deep that it had eaten right though a notable portion of her brain as well.

Osamu slowly sat up and backed away from the remains of the class jokester. She did not move a muscle, so he concluded that the acid must have had the desired effect on her. Osamu picked up the lid and as he screwed it back onto the top of the jar, he sneered at Hina "I think you'd make a fine model for a rehabilitation center. You'd probably have a whole lecture dedicated to you in the 'this is your brain on drugs' section."

He scoffed a little at his joke. After making certain that the lid was on tight, he returned the jar to the supply pack and zipped the bag up. Then he picked up his knife, casually wiped off the blood from the blade, flipped it back in, and left the walkway.

A couple minutes later, he arrived back at the joke shop. As he approached the place, he called out "Reika, guess what? I got Hina! And Jesus, I got her good. You should see her face! Or what's left of it."

He honestly did not expect Reika to respond, given the weakened state she was in when he left her. However, he at least presumed she would give him a nod of acknowledgement. But she did not. When he arrived at the joke shop, she was lying perfectly still in the exact same spot as before. She appeared to be unconscious.

"Reika?" said Osamu, a note of worry in his voice. He kneeled at her side and gently tapped his hands on her shoulders in an attempt to revive her. That was when he realized she was no longer breathing. Osamu held his hand at her neck, and discovered that her pulse was gone as well.

Osamu's blithe demeanor quickly disintegrated into despair.

"No, no, no, no!" he shouted frantically. He gripped Reika by her shoulders and shook her, as if doing so would bring her back. This desperate move was in vain, but Osamu did not care, nor could he be criticized for this behavior. Now that he and Reika were so close to each other, he could not imagine losing her like this.

Before long, Osamu was cradling Reika's body in his arms. He broke down sobbing as he held her close.

Everyone in Class 3-A had always believed that there was nothing in the world that could break Osamu. Before this day, they would have been correct. This was because before this day, he had never shown a huge display of emotion over anything and he had never been in a close, personal relationship with anyone. However, in less than one day, he had fallen in love with one of his closest friends and formed an intimate bond with her. He even went so far as to having sexual relations with her.

In just one moment, his connection with her had been destroyed. The loss of this wonderful new sensation was far too much for him to cope with. He had lost the woman he loved, and he was devastated because of it.

All he could do was weep for Reika. He wept for her as if he had lost a piece of his own soul.

**Girl #19 Reika Fujihara – Dead**

**Girl #13 Hina Tashima – Dead**

**21 Students Remaining**


End file.
